Where'd the Sunlight Go?
by applepiethis
Summary: Airianna didn't need a lot in life; just her family by her side. But when the end of the world separates her from her husband, she goes through hell to track him down. Hope seems lost until she stumbles upon a cop on the way into Atlanta and her life changes forever.
1. Chapter 1

Airianna opened her eyes to sunlight blasting her in the face. She rolled herself out of her bed and fell onto her floor. From the noise she received in return a slight grunt from her husband as he too cracked open his eyes. She smiled at him, blew a kiss, stood up from her floor, and shuffled into the kitchen to start on breakfast for her small family. As she was cooking she heard slight movement from the master bedroom indicating her husband was getting ready for the day. She turned off the stove and placed the bacon and scrambled eggs onto 3 separate plates for the glass table by the window when a small weight barreled into her legs.

The tired woman glanced down and was greeted with the sight of her unruly toddler, Eren. He gave his mother a large, toothy smile before clambering onto one of the chairs at the table to wait for his food. She placed his small plate in front of him with a fork, kissed the top of his head, and set the remaining plates down. As the little boy began to inhale his food his mother started to brew some coffee for her husband, who by now had shuffled his body all the way into the kitchen and to the table, and steep of tea for herself. As the sleepy father slowly picked at his food his wife gently passed a cup of hot, black coffee into his hands and he gratefully gulped it down.

Airianna then sat herself down with her own cup of Earl Grey tea and began to nibble on her breakfast as she watched her two favorite men do the same. Afterwards she picked up her baby boy, shared a kiss with her husband, fought the child and herself into appropriate clothing for the day, and headed out the door to her job and her son's daycare.

It took an hour for her to drive to the hospital as usual living so far away from the city, but she didn't mind. When she got there she quickly rushed Eren to the daycare on the 2nd floor before heading to her own floor to begin her work day. She entered the ICU only to be greeted by a nurse calling a 'CODE: BLUE' on the intercom, and she sprinted to fix the patient's breathing before it stopped all together. She spent the next 6 hours doing normal rounds, special check ins on patients who were not improving or taking a turn for the worse, and occasionally getting called down to the ED for an emergent cardiac surgery.

While she started to head to the elevator to start her lunch break, and visit her son, an ED nurse came rushing up to her, "Doctor! We need you for surgery ASAP. There was a cop that was shot clean through his left shoulder" The man sounded out of breath as if he had been searching for Airianna for awhile.

"Any veins or arteries nicked?" The nurse nodded as he followed the doctor into the elevator and jammed his hand on the 1st floor button.

"Name?"

"I believe his name is," The nurse quickly glanced at the chart he was holding before he passed it to her, "Rick Grimes, ma'am."

A few weeks passed since the man, Rick Grimes, had surgery and he was recovering well for having nicked 3 veins and 1 artery. The man was lucky to be alive, even if he was in a coma for the time being. While she checked in on him again in the ICU she quickly waved to his partner who visited quite often before continuing on her way to her office with a mound of paperwork. Many people had been coming in recently with scratches and bite marks they claimed came from other human beings. She was lucky that she didn't have to deal with them face to face, she ended up normally reviewing their files and then passing them off to one of the many residents.

Her husband warned her from going into work that day when he noticed the hospital had been featured on the news, but she brushed him off and sent him on his way to enjoy his weekend hunting trip. Her husband did end up making her promise to keep Eren near her that day, and after a few minutes of nagging she caved and agreed. Damnit if she didn't love that man she would strangle him. She adored her son, but he had been crawling around her office all day attempting to shove every little thing into his tiny mouth. When she noticed the clock displayed '5:15' she scooped up Eren, crammed his squirmy body into his papoose, strapped the confusing contraption to her body, and grabbed her backpack to head home for the day.

She had just started to walk down the hall towards the elevators when a loud bang akin to fireworks sounded in the air, but she had spent enough time in the country to know the difference between fireworks and a gunshot.

Airianna quickly hid in a side hallway near the pharmacy doors when she spotting a female nurse crying in a ball on the floor. She rushed over to the sobbing girl and patted her back, "It's alright Mary. It's only me." Mary quickly lessened her crying at the familiar voice. "What's going on? Why is there someone shooting up the hospital?"

Mary shook her head, "It's the military doctor," she whimpered. "The bite victims started attacking people and the government said it's some type of virus."

"Well if it's the military then we will be perfectly safe." At her words Mary began to sob louder than before.

"No! They are shooting anyone who could have been bitten! That means all of us."

Airianna felt her blood run cold, "They aren't letting anyone leave."

She quickly sprinted back to her office with Eren and slammed the door shut. She took off her backpack and threw out all of the files she had planned on taking home and started putting any needed supplies in it: water bottle, notebook, change of clothes, etc. She swung the barely filled bag back onto her shoulders and grabbed her large key ring out of her desk before venturing back outside. She quietly snuck back into the hallway she found Mary in to see the woman had already left, but the pharmacy door she was sitting in from of was still locked. She deftly pulled out her key ring, unlocked the door, slipped inside, and started filling up her bag with high prescription pain meds all the way to the simplest Ibuprofen.

Once her bag was filled and the shelves were all empty she snuck back outside, but froze in her steps when she heard gunshots getting closer to the 6th floor. She crept around the floor until she reached the stairwell leading down to the floor holding the employee parking garage. She hoped beyond luck that the military was only blocking the main exits to the garage and not the small side exit she always used since she was the only one who could slip her tiny ass convertible through it. Eren began to whimper a little as she got all the way down to the 2nd floor stairwell and she held his head while shushing him. She was in the homestretch of her half-assed plan now, and all she had to do was walk across the 2nd floor to the private employee staircase on the other side of the corridor. She cracked the door open and was stunned at the image she was hit with.

The whole corridor looked like something out of a horror movie, and not some shitty B-rated one either. All the lights were either broken or barely flickering, there were hospital beds strewn around the floor, massive stains of blood splattered all over the walls, and the bodies. There were countless bodies littered on the ground from patients to her coworkers. All of them had a matching bullet through their foreheads which made her morbidly hopeful that the military had already check this floor. She slowly stepped her way around the bodies while trying to stay as quiet as possible. As she was going she came across and handful of fully loaded M9 pistols lying on the ground. She picked up a few and unloaded the rest, shoving the cache of spare bullets into her pockets.

She was almost to the double doors which promised the chance of safety when the daycare door caught her attention. It seemed like someone had locked it from the inside and when Airianna peaked in the glass window on the door she noticed the daycare instructor, Erica, was kneeling on the ground and she appeared to be clutching something. Perhaps one of the children were hurt or she was calling for help on her cellphone, but Airianna decided she would not leave the poor woman stuck in there to die.

She unlocked the door from the outside and slowly pushed it open. The sight inside appalled her and almost caused her to throw up.

Many of the children were on the ground with chunks of their flesh missing, either crying of help, or already passed out from blood loss. One of the younger children wailed and Erica's head shot up towards the poor girl's cry. She dropped what she had been holding, which was apparently a bloody infant, and crawled over to the girl. Airianna stood frozen as the sweet, shy woman ripped into the child's neck, successfully silencing the child's crying.

"Oh my fucking God." Airianna's whisper caused the deranged woman to shoot her head up and she got a perfect view of her bloody face and milky gray eyes that used to be bright green. The woman dragged herself towards the doctor and her own child, but before she could reach them Airianna pulled one of the guns and shoot her in the chest.

The usually fatal gunshot wound did not slow down this 'thing' in the slightest, "Oh, fuck!" She quickly shot her in the head before she grabbed onto her own foot and breathed a sigh of relief when she fell to the ground, finally dead.

Airianna then immediately threw up and started to cry. Jesus, she killed someone! But she was eating the children. Oh mercy, the kids. She died her tears and stumbled out of the daycare locking it once more behind herself. She patted Eren's head as they quickly reached the car and she unstrapped her son from her body and placed him into his car seat. She then turned her car on, slipped out of the small exit, and got the hell out of dodge.

A few hours and 2 detours later she and Eren, who had fallen asleep, had gotten back to her house only to find that her husband wasn't there. She started to panic until she saw a note sitting on the counter top that read:

_Airi,_

_I pray to fucking God that you got out of that hospital with Eren. The news said there was a safe zone being set up in Atlanta. I took the truck to go get my dick of a brother and I will meet you there when I track his ass down. I will be about a day behind you if you made it back here. God I hope you did. I even tried to get to the hospital, but the damn army wouldn't let me through. I love you and I love the little man too. I hope you two stay safe._

She breathed a sigh of relief after she finished the note and let a plan form in her head. She had been able to get back to the house in the car, but she was running on fumes now. A drive to Atlanta would have been the easiest thing since sliced bread, but she and Eren would have to settle for a foot powered trip.


	2. Chapter 2

Nearly 2 months passed since Airianna and her son escaped from the hospital, and they were nowhere closer to Atlanta. She spent the first few weeks following an old road map to the city before she ran into a small group of survivors. They said they were out on a camping trip when everything went to chaos. She was impressed at a group of 5 college kids doing so well on their own in the middle of the woods. They offered to head to Atlanta with her and her child, and for the next few weeks they did just that.

Until one night when one of the girls went out to fish and came running back with a bite mark on her leg.

Airianna tried her hardest to save the girl's life, but the fever burned through any meds she offered her. She was dead within hours. The doctor then insisted they needed to 'dispose' of her before she turned into one of those savage monsters, but her friends refused. They wished to bury her properly and while they were arguing she had come back as one of the soulless beasts. She attacked her brother first, ripping through his neck as he pleaded for help from the other members of the group.

Before she could attack anybody else Airianna put a bullet through her head and her brother's as well, putting the poor boy out of his misery. Afterwards she refused to travel with the foolish teens anymore and went off on her own, Eren happily following his mother's choice. She now had been hiding out in a barn off the side of the highway for the past week. While she and Eren were nearly the city the poor child came down with a strain of flu. Airianna immediately made camp in the barn's loft and started to treat her son. She refused to let her son succumb to the virus when she had the medical knowledge to help him.

Fortunately he had slowly recovered from the bouts of fever and nausea, making travel a safe option for the pair again. She carefully placed her napping child in his papoose and climbed down from the loft when she heard a voice call out, "Hello? Is anyone here?" She glanced outside the barn door to see a man in a sheriff's outfit petting the horse that had also taken refuge in the barn.

Airianna slowly stepped out of the barn with her gun raised towards the man, "Who are you and where are you heading to?" He turned toward her and raised his hands in the air.

"I didn't mean to spook you miss. I am heading to Atlanta to find my wife and son. I saw the horse and thought I could ride it there. My car ran out of gas." He had the Georgian accent and seemed like a nice guy, but one could never be too sure. She glanced him over and let her waning trust in humanity win over her paranoia.

She lowered her gun and responded, "Well that's what we were planning on doing ourselves. Name's Airianna and this little tyke is Eren. You're welcome to share the horse with us if you tell me your name first."

He smiled, "My name is Rick Grimes. It's nice to meet you two."

Airianna quirked her eyebrows at his name, "You live in King County?" He shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head at her statement. She muttered to herself while she stepped into the barn to retrieve a saddle for the horse, "I saw you come into the hospital a few months ago. Nasty gunshot wound." She came back outside and noticed the confused expression on Rick's face. "I was a doctor at the hospital, actually pulled that slug out of you. Surprised to see you out of that damn coma."

With her words his eyes brightened and he allowed a smile to return to his face, "What a coincidence to run into each other. Thanks for saving my life." She absently acknowledged his thanks, finished saddling the horse, and gestured for him to hop on. Once they were all safely on the horse they set off for the city. It didn't take long to get to the outskirts of Atlanta. Airianna and Rick observed the mass of cars on the other side of the road, remains of people attempting to exit the city.

They slowly headed through the streets that were eerily empty. There were crashed and abandoned cars littered about and a few signs of the military being there. Airianna pulled her son closer to her as she looked for any signs of other human life.

"Rick, something seems off here."

Rick was quiet for a little bit until he kept on urging the horse forward.

They both kept their eyes out for any undead as they moved slowly and quietly through the city. As they passed a bus that had 2 bodies that appeared dead inside both of them suddenly snapped their heads toward the sound of the horse moving. Airianna held onto Rick and her son a little bit tighter and hoped her bag and pistols were secure on her body. The horse must have noticed them as well because it started to panic.

"Whoa!" Rick cried out. "Steady, it's alright. Nothing we can't get away from." He turned the horse onto another street and pulled the reins, slowing it to a stop. He looked up to the sky and it seemed as if he was listening for something. Then she heard what he was hearing, the sound of a helicopter.

"Do you hear that?" she asked.

Rick nodded his head, "Sounds like a helicopter." They both looked around until Airianna saw a reflection of the helicopter in the glass of one of the skyscrapers.

"There, Rick. There." He looked where she pointed and started to snap the reins to get the horse moving. It shot down the street and turned the corner only to suddenly come to a harsh stop. They both looked to see what had stopped the horse.

Corpses.

Hundreds and hundreds of the vile things.

The beings turned to face them, stumbling a bit due to their bad cognitive skills. "Oh god, Rick come on!" Rick snapped out of his shock and turned the horse around as quickly as possible. The horse rushed back up the street away from the threat. It turned the corner only to be met with another horde. Airianna grabbed Eren close and hoped that the horse wouldn't buck them off.

"Shit." Rick breathed fearfully.

The horde attacked, grabbing at them and the horse. Airianna used one arm to protect her son and the other to swing one of her guns at the mass trying to get the living bodies. The horse did try to buck them off to attempt to get away from the horrid things, but they were too much for the poor animal and it toppled over sending Rick, Airianna, and Eren to the ground. Rick's bag flew off his shoulders, but luckily Airianna's stayed on her back.

It was a miracle that her son wasn't screaming bloody murder at the moment, but as they started to crawl away from the distracted monsters she could hear him whimper from all the noise. Airianna noticed that there was a tank nearby, kicked away the closest chomping body, and yelled to Rick while getting to her feet, "Get to the tank and crawl under!"

"What?"

"Just go!" she yelled. They both scrambled under the tank and attacked anything that got too close.

"There's more in front!" She looked to where Rick was pointing and saw more heading their way. She lifted her pistol and started shooting the ones reaching towards them. She felt movement below her and saw Eren squirming in the jacket.

She looked up and saw an open hatch in the bottom of the tank and started to climb up, "Rick get up here now!" Rick looked to where she was going and quickly followed and shut the lid so the corpses wouldn't follow them up.

He glanced around the dark space as he shuffled over to the mother and child duo. There was a radio, shovel, and a dead soldier up against the wall. Rick, ignoring common sense, collapsed next to it with Airianna slowly sitting down on the far side away from the body. Rick saw a gun was in the body's holster and was going to reach for it when Airianna tapped him on the shoulder, "What?" She handed him a sharp knife from her bag. He looked at her and she shrugged.

"In case it's not dead dead." He nodded his head and then proceeded to slowly pull the gun out. The body shifted and started to moan. Without hesitation, Rick jabbed the knife into the middle of the soldier's forehead. Both of them leaned back in relief, but then Rick stood up again.

"What is it now?" He pointed up and Airianna noticed that the top hatch was still open. Rick stuck his head out of the hatch then quickly slammed it shut. He dropped down into one of the seats at the front of the tank.

"Is your son okay? I'm surprised he isn't bawling his eyes out." She glanced at the infant as he just wiggled around and then looked up at his mom.

"Yea he's fine, just quiet like his daddy." She then looked back up to Rick, "You dropped your bag outside, didn't you?"

He nodded his head, "We'll worry about that at a later time." Rick pulled up the handgun that he got off the corpse and opened the magazine to check for bullets.

"Any rounds left in it?" He glanced up and nodded.

"Fifteen."

They both closed their eyes and sat in silence. Both were aware of the need to escape from the tank, but the only way out was blocked by about a hundred walking dead bodies that just couldn't wait to rip their faces off. Neither of them knew the city's layout or how far away the next horde was. Airianna put her head on knees to rest for a spell. She had been like that for only 30 seconds when she shot up at the noise of radio static. It seemed that Rick caught the noise too as they both looked towards the radio as a new voice echoed in the metal death trap.

"Hey, you. Dumb-asses. Yeah, you two in the tank. Cozy in there?"


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey are you two alive in there?"

Rick shot to his feet and ran for the radio when he shot his head up too high and banged it on the roof of the tank. "You okay?" Airianna asked. The man stumbled, but nodded his head and continued his scramble for the mic of the radio. He grabbed the receiver and flipped the switch while Airianna shifted Eren in her arms while he giggled and babbled.

"Hello? Hello?"

"There you are," the voice sighed in relief. "You had me wondering. Where's the girl?"

Airianna carefully stood up and walked over to the radio grabbing the receiver from Rick. "I'm right here. What about you? Can you see us?"

"Yeah, I can see you. You're surrounded by walkers. That's the bad news."

Rick raised an eyebrow and Airianna passed the receiver back to him."There's good news?"

The voice paused, "No."

"Listen, whoever you are, I don't mind telling you, We're a little concerned in here." He almost snapped at the person speaking through the radio. It was obvious he was stressed out by the situation. Airianna empathized with the shaking man holding the mic.

"Oh, man," the voice breathed out. "You should see it from over here. You'd be having a _major _break-out."

Rick paused, looking over at Airianna and Eren, before speaking into the receiver again. "Got any advice for us?" he asked, praying this random person could get them out of this horrible mess. He still had to find his family and he would not allow a young mother and her child to perish at his hands.

"Yeah. I'd say make a run for it," the guy advised.

"That's it?" Rick asked with sarcasm laced in his voice. "Make a run for it?"

"My way's not as dumb as it sounds," the man defended himself. "You've got eyes on the outside here. There's one geek still on the tank, but the others have climbed down and joined the feeding frenzy where the horse went down. You with me so far?"

"So far."

"Okay. The street on the other side of the tank is less crowded. If you move now, while they're distracted, you stand a chance. You got ammo?"

"In the duffel bag we dropped outside-guns. Can we get it?'

"Forget the bag, okay?" the voice said impatiently."What do you have on you?"

"Hang on." Rick broke the connection and looked over at his companion. "how many weapons do you have?"

"My three M9 pistols and two knives?" Airianna glanced inside her bag just to make sure. "Yeah two."

Rick looked around the tank and saw a grenade on a shelf above the soldier's body. He crawled over and slipped it in his pocket. He looked over at Airianna and gave her a small nod. "I've got a Beretta with one clip- fifteen rounds," he said into the receiver. "My friend here has three M9s and two knives."

"Make them count," the man cautioned. "Jump off the right side of the tank. Keep going in that direction. There's an alley up the street, maybe fifty yards. Be there." Airianna nodded in understanding,processing the plan they had just been presented with. She then scooted over to the top hatch in the tank, unlatched the safety of her gun, and tightened the papoose her child sat in.

"Hey, what's your name?" Rick asked.

"Have you been listening? You're running out of time!" the voice replied.

"Right..." Rick glanced around for anymore weapons in the tank and saw a shovel sitting on one of the upper shelves. He reached up and grabbed it. He then glanced over at the mother and son pair. "You both ready?"

"Yeah."

"Stick close to me," he said and relaxed as she nodded her head in agreement. Rick climbed up the hatch and threw the lid open. He turned to the left of the tank and almost jumped when he saw one of the bodies staring up at him with a blank gaze. Without any hesitation, he swung the shovel into it knocking the mass off the tank. He quickly climbed through the hatch and leapt down onto the pavement. "Come on!" he called back to Airianna.

While Airianna was making her way out of the tank with Eren, Rick spotted another corpse nearing him on his left, and he shot it in the head. Rick was confused when he heard two gunshots and turned around to see that his counterpart had shot one that was dangerously close to him.

"Thanks." She nodded and then sprinted down the street towards the promise of shelter. They continued down the road shooting any dead bodies reaching too close to them. Airianna counted the distance and once they reached the fifty yard mark she turned into the closest alley. She and Rick saw something moving in the alley and raised their guns, aiming at the body's head.

"Whoa!" The same voice from the radio cried fearfully, "Not dead!"

Airianna and Rick both relaxed when they noticed it was the man trying to help them. The man was of Korean descent, but was raised in America, judging by his lack of an accent. He looked to be in his early twenties, with black hair, brown eyes, and a light complexion.

"Come on, come on!" the young man cried as he turned and ran back up the alley. The pair glanced at each other before rushing after him. "Faster! Come on, come on!" he urged them. When they got to a ladder Rick shoved the mother towards it before she could argue and then the man went after her. Rick shot a few corpses heading down the alley before he too started climbing. Once they had all reached the top they leaned over the railing to see the mob of walking corpses swarming the ladder which they were just on.

"Nice moves there, Clint Eastwood," the Korean said to Rick as the two men struggled to regain their breath. "You the new Sheriff and Deputy pair?" he asked, nodding to Airianna, who was still staring at the bodies and clutching her son close. "Come riding in to clean up the town?"

"It wasn't our intention," Rick answered.

"Yeah, whatever. Yee-haw. You're still dumbasses."

Rick held out his hand to the stranger. "Rick. Thanks."

The man stared at his hand before shaking it. "Glenn. You're welcome." He looked over at Airianna. "What about you Tomb Raider?" Airianna glanced at him and then turned around.

"Airianna. And this," she gestured to her baby. " is my son Eren."

"Whoa, that's a kid. Like a baby kid. Okay." Glenn looked back down at the ground. "Oh no."

They all spared a glance back down to see the beings were attempting to climb up the ladder. Glenn scooted past both of them to get to the second ladder behind them. The doctor looked at the crowd below before sparing a look at the dangerous ladder with slight worry on her face, but she guessed it was their only choice out of the situation.

"Bright side? It'll be the fall that kills us," Glenn decided to point out. "I'm a glass half full kinda guy."

Airianna carefully started climbing after Glenn with Rick following after her. As they were climbing up one of the rings the woman stepped on slipped out of place. She let out a yelp as her leg gave out after the metal, but luckily Rick caught her foot and placed it onto a safe ring. She shot him a look of thanks and continued to climb after the young Asian man. Once they reached the ledge Glenn assisted the mother over and the men waited as she recovered from almost dropping to her death.

After a moment of recuperation the pair followed Glenn across the rooftops. Airianna glanced down at another alleyway as they walked across a ventilation vent connecting two of the rooftops. There was a large overturned bus blocking the alley, keeping most of the creatures from the herd out in the main street. "Are you the one who barricaded the alley?" she asked Glenn.

He shrugged, "Somebody did. I guess when the city got overrun," he explained as they ran across a rooftop to a roof access hatch. "Whoever did it was thinking. Not many geeks get through."

"Back at the tank- why'd you stick your neck out for us?" Rick asked.

"Call it foolish, naive hope that, if I'm ever that far up shit creek, somebody might do the same for me," Glenn answered as he lowered himself down the ladder. He paused to look up at the three strangers. "Guess I'm an even bigger dumbass that you two adults. The kid just got dragged into it."

The two glanced at each other before following Glenn down the ladder. When Airianna was halfway down the ladder she grabbed the hatch and pulled it closed behind them. Then she continued slowly down the ladder. Once they were on solid ground again they walked towards a fire escape that led down to the barricaded alley. As they went, Glenn pulled a radio out of his back pocket.

"I'm back," he spoke into the radio. "Got three guests. Plus four Geeks in the alley."

When they reached the bottom of the stairs they observed a few creatures lumbering around in the alley. Unfortunately two of the four started heading towards them. Rick raised his gun to shoot when suddenly two guys ran out a door dressed in random protective gear. They were wielding baseball bats and started to beat the beings as the trio ran into the door the men came from.

"You son of a bitch!" A woman's voice yelled. "I oughta kill you both!"

Airianna turned to see a woman with long, blond hair holding a gun to Rick's head. When she tried to get closer to Rick the woman quickly turned and pointed it at Airianna's chest,completely oblivious to the child resting there. She backed up with her arms around Eren when a Hispanic man got in front of her.

"Just chill out, Andrea. She's has a kid for Christ's sake." The blonde-Andrea- finally noticed Eren curled up in Airianna's chest and seemed surprised she had missed suck an important fact. She then sighed and turned her gun back to Rick.

"Come on, ease up," another woman agreed. She was a bit older and was African American. She looked nice, but also serious in her own way.

"Ease up, really Jacqui, Morales? You're _kidding_ me right? We're dead because of these stupid assholes!" She shoved her gun even closer to Rick's head causing his hands to shoot up in the air.

"Andrea, I said back the hell off," Morales said, his tone stronger. "Or pull the trigger." He challenged when Andrea didn't move.

There were a few moments that passed in silence until Andrea put down her gun, causing Rick and Airianna to relax. "We're all dead-all of us," Andrea scoffed. "Because of you."

"I don't understand." Rick finally sputtered out.

"Look," Morales said, grabbing Airianna and Rick and moving them further into the building. "We came into the city to scavenge supplies. You know what the key to scavenging is? Surviving! You know the key to surviving is? Sneaking in and out, tiptoeing. Not shooting up the streets like it's the OK Corral."

"Every geek from miles around heard you popping off rounds," the one nameless group member said. He was African American as well and looked pretty tough. Everyone stopped at the entrance to the next room only to see two sets of large glass doors that had a ton of 'geeks' that were trying to get through.

"You just rang the dinner bell." Andrea breathed out.

"Get the picture now?" Morales added. The glass started to crack a bit and everyone backed up a far away as possible. Airianna felt Rick grab her arm as they backed away for the new danger.

"What they hell were you two trying to do anyway?" Andrea asked.

"Trying to flag a helicopter," Rick replied.

"Helicopter?" The African American man said. "Man that's crap. There ain't no damn helicopter."

"You were chasing a hallucination- imagining things. It happens," Jacqui explained.

"Then how did we both see it?" Airianna asked quietly.

No one had an answer to that statement. "Hey T-Dog," Morales said attempting to change the subject. "Try that CB. Can you contact the others?"

"Others?" Rick asked. "The refugee center?"

"Yeah, the refugee center," Jacqui scoffed."They've got biscuits waiting in the oven for us."

"I got no signal," T- Dog said, fiddling with the station dial. "Maybe the roof."

Everyone jumped as gunfire sounded from above.

"Oh no," Andrea sighed. "Is that Dixon?" At that sentence Airianna looked up in surprise.

"Did you say Dix-"

"What is that maniac doing?" Jacqui questioned above Airianna's soft voice.

"Come on, let's go." Glenn said, starting to lead the way up to the rooftop access. Everyone followed him up. Airianna steeled her nerves. There was a fifty/fifty chance that who she was looking for was up there, or there was just a whole bunch of trouble.

They quickly reached the roof for the doctor to see a familiar tall, white man with a rugged build firing on the streets with a hunting rifle that she had definitely seen before.

"Hey Dixon!" Morales cried. "Are you crazy?" Merle Dixon turned at the sound of his voice and gave a grin that screamed he was as high as a kite.

"Hey you oughta be more polite to a man with a gun! Huh?" He jumped from his perch to stand in front of everyone, stumbling slightly when he landed. "Only common sense."

"Man you wasting bullets we ain't even got, man!" T-Dog yelled at him. "And you're bringing more of them down on our ass! Man, just chill!" Airianna sighed at the drugged out man's attitude. His standoffish behavior was no surprise to her.

"Hey!" Dixon snapped, "It's bad enough I've got this Taco-Bender on my ass all day. Now I'm gonna take orders from you? I don't think so, _bro_," he said sarcastically, moving forward so that he stood in front of T- Dog's face.

"That'll be the day."

"That'll be the day?" T-Dog echoed. "You got something to tell me?"

"Hey, T- Dog , just leave it, man," Morales tried, but it was obvious T-Dog wasn't having it. "All right? It isn't worth it!" He stepped between him and Merle, attempting to be a voice of reason between the two hot headed males. "Now , Merle? Just relax, okay? We've got enough trouble."

"You wanna know the day?" Merle asked, completely ignoring Morales. "I'll tell ya the day, Mr. 'Yo'. It's the day I take orders from a-"

Airianna grimaced and toned out the argument after that. She was used to growing up around Merle's disgusting speech and ideals. He always made fun of her dream of becoming a doctor, and even after she reached her goals he still cracked jokes about her making sandwiches for him. She looked down to see that Eren was moving around and making little grunts of discomfort. She smiled at her son while walking away to get him fed away from the prying eyes of the others.

Though she bet they were pretty distracted with Merle's shit at the moment.

"Hey! What're you doin', man? That's my stuff!" " The mother turned to see Merle hollering at Rick angrily. She noticed he was now handcuffed to a pipe and T-Dog was on the ground with a nasty bruise on his face. "If I get loose, you better pray! You hear me, you pig? You hear me!?" Man, Merle was pissed off to hell.

What even happened?

"Yeah, your voice carries." Rick called back simply.

Before Airianna could walk up to Rick and ask him what happened, Morales beat her to it. "You're not Atlanta PD," Morales pointed out. "Where are you guys from?"

"Up the road aways," Rick replied slyly.

Morales chuckled. "Well, officer friendly, miss, and little friend, from up the road a ways...Welcome to the big city."

Airianna gestured to the mess, "So what happened with all you guys?"

T-Dog looked over at her questionably. "How did you not hear what happened. He beat my ass for being black and Sheriff stepped up cuffing him to the damn pipe."

"I'm sorry, but my son was hungry and I couldn't just ignore him, but I am sorry that you got hurt," He observed his bruised face. "If you need any medical attention I am a doctor."

T- Dog blushed a bit then chuckled at what she said, "Nah, I'm fine, but I think Dixon could use a band-aid or two." Airianna glanced at Merle smirking when she noticed he was trying his damnedest to ignore the whole conversation.

"I don't think he needs my help. He once told me that I would only become a doctor when he became as gay as a rainbow, so unless I get a sorry he's just going to have to sit there in pain."

At those words he looked up in shock and finally looked at her instead of passing her over. He smirked at the small child nested against her chest.

"Well I'll be damn, it's a miracle! Darylina's wife and kid back from the dead. Ha ha, he'll get a kick out of that."


	4. Chapter 4

Everyone from the group gazed at the mother and child with surprise and shock. Airianna shuffled her feet while she moved Eren from one hip to the next. "Uh, Airianna you're related to Merle?" She shifted her gaze from the ground to Glenn's shocked face and slowly nodded her head. "Wow, uh...Alright then. Crazy luck huh?"

"Yeah," The mother muttered. "Sadly that stupid asshole is my brother-in-law."

The group tensioned lowered as the member giggled at her jab at the meth head while the male Dixon glared at his relative.

"Uh, okay. How's that signal?" Morales asked trying to change the subject.

"Like Dix-Merle's brain-weak," T-Dog quipped as he was messing with the station dial. At that comment Merle flipped him off, to which T-Dog just sneered at him.

"Keep trying," Morales encouraged.

"Why?" Andrea asked, staring at Rick and Airianna pointedly. "There's nothing they can do. Not a damn thing." As Andrea moved away from the others, Airianna and Rick looked at Morales, who gave them an apologetic smile in return.

"We've got some people outside the city is all," he explained. "There's no refugee center. that's a pipe dream."

"Then she's right," Rick said. "We're on our own. It's up to us to find a way out."

"Good luck with that," Merle sneered. "These streets ain't safe in this part of town from what I hear." He leered at Andrea, who was looking through one of their backpacks. "Ain't that right, sugar tits?" Airianna rolled her eyes. Yep same old Merle. He used that on her when she had gotten back from college. That ended with Daryl beating the shit out of him since he was trying to hook up with his girl. It was a fun day for her.

"Hey honeybunch," Merle tried again. "What say you get me outta these cuffs, we go off somewhere, bump some uglies like my sister-in-law did? Gonna die anyway."

"I'd rather," Andrea scoffed. Airianna giggled at her swift comeback.

"Rug muncher," he muttered in disappointment. "Figured as much."

"These streets ain't safe," Morales quoted. "Now there's an understatement."

"What about under the streets?" Rick asked. "The sewers?"

Morales' eyes lit up at that. "Oh, man..." He turned to Glenn. "Hey Glenn, check the alley. You see any manhole covers?"

Glenn got up and ran over to the other side of the roof. He glanced down at the alley where they had entered from the other building. After a glance over the street, he turned around and jogged back over to the others. "No. Must be all out on the street where the Geeks are."

"Maybe not," Jacqui spoke up, moving everyone's attention to her. "Old building like this, built in the twenties-big structures often had drainage tunnels into the sewers in case of flooding. Down in the sub-basements."

"How do you know that?" Glenn asked.

"It's my job-was. I worked in the city zoning office."

"Let's go to the sub-basements then," Rick said. Everyone but T-Dog, Merle, and Airianna nodded and followed him towards the door.

"Wait a second!" Merle yelled after them. "Hold on!"

Rick paused at the entrance to the roof to look back at Airianna. "I'll stay to look after him. Make sure he doesn't try anything stupid." Rick nodded and shut the door behind him. Merle and T-Dog watched as Airianna slid down the edge of the wall to sit down. She unclipped Eren from the jacket and let him sit in her lap. She then pulled out two water bottles and passed them to T-Dog and Merle. T-Dog started drinking his bottle with need, Merle just grunted and tossed his away. "Merle you need to drink water or your body will get dehydrated."

"I ain't listening to you Airi," he scoffed at the woman. "You always try to one-up me with your hoity-toity doctor talk. I don't need your help." Airianna sighed. It had been a while since anyone had called her by her nickname and she kinda missed it. She, however, did not miss the condescending tone she always received from her son's uncle. She gazed down at Eren to see he was out of her lap crawling over to Merle. "Hey what's with mini-Darylina doing dragging his way over to me?"

T-Dog chuckled at the nickname but went back to fiddling with the radio after the got a harsh glare from Merle.

"He remembers you, idiot. You are his uncle after all." Eren was now right in front of Merle and staring up at him with little stars in his eyes. Merle smirked and picked him up with his one free arm. Eren proceeded to laugh and babble at Merle like he was trying to say 'Hi' to him after so long.

"Well of course he remembers ol' uncle Merle!" He beamed with pride. "Best uncle he ever did have." Airianna walked over to him as he passed her son back to her. "Baby brother's gonna be real happy to see you two alive and kicking. He's been all Mr. Grumpy face with me ever since I saved his ass by dragging him with me."

"Thanks for doing that by the way." She mumbled while trying to hook her squiggling son back into the baby jacket. Her efforts were interrupted by the sound of the metal roof door slamming open. The three people waiting on the roof shot their heads around to see the rest of the ragtag group sprinting over to the adult trio.

"Any way out?" T- Dog asked after listening to the family members talk for the past few minutes.

"No, we need to find another way." Glenn breathed out.

Everyone that could gathered around the ledge again, looking at the city below. They all attempted to catch sight of anything near their vicinity which could help them out of their shithole situation. Luckily Morales had brought binoculars with him, so it was easy for Rick to scout out the area for anything they could see.

"There," The sheriff said, pointing to a part of the city. "That construction site. Those trucks-They always keep keys on hand."

"You'll never make it past the walkers," Morales pointed out.

Rick turned to Glenn. "You got us out of that tank."

"Yeah, but they were feeding," Glenn reminded him. "They were distracted."

"Can we distract them again?"

"Right, listen to him," Merle spoke up for the first time since the others came up to the roof. "He's onto sumthin'. A diversion, like on 'Hogan's Heroes."

"God, give it a rest," Jacqui pleaded exasperatedly.

"They're drawn by sound right?" Rick asked while ignoring the jackass comments.

"Right," Glenn nodded. "Like dogs. They hear a sound, they come."

"What else?"

"Aside from they hear you?" Morales jumped in. "They see you, smell you, and, if they catch you, they eat you."

"They can tell us by smell?" Rick raised his brows.

Airianna finally joined the talk, "Can't you?"

"They smell dead, we don't," Andrea added. "It's pretty distinct."

Airianna had decided that Rick's idea was crazy, but if it worked then they were home free. While Rick and Morales were getting a body from the small alleyway, the others were putting on gloves and jackets. Airianna drenched a pocket knife with copious amounts of alcohol, courtesy of Merle's not-so-secret bag stash. The group collected in a spare storage room of the department store, and Airi passed Eren to Jacqui, who kindly offered to watch over the child during the 'procedure'. The male pair dragged the body in through the doorway and she crouched down in front of it. She then prepared herself for the unorthodox autopsy.

She was about to slice into the rotting body when Rick cried out, "Wait!" She turned to look at him with a questioning face and watched as he bent down and searched through the body's pockets for something.

He pulled out a wallet.

"Wayne Dunlap," he said, reading off the name on the driver's license. "Georgia license. Born in 1979." He took the license and handed it to Glenn. "He had twenty-eight dollars in his pocket when he died. And a picture of a pretty girl." He flipped over a picture that he had pulled out of the wallet. "With love, from Rachel. He used to be like us. Worrying about the rent or the super bowl. If I ever find my family, I'm gonna tell them about Wayne."

"One more thing," Glenn muttered quietly. "He's an organ donor."

Rick moved away and gave the doctor her space. She then cut down the chest in a 'Y' formation and pulled both sides of the skin away from the body. Everyone else lept back from the horrid smell. She rolled her eyes at their reactions and then dug the knife into one of the legs and one of the arms, sending blood all over the floor.

"How is this not making you sick?" Andrea asked in disbelief.

"I find it worse when the person is still living. That's when I don't want to cut into them, but I normally have to for the living to continue." Airianna said casually as she stepped back and gave the others space. She slipped off her gloves and grabbed Eren from Jacqui's arms.

"I'm _so_ gonna hurl," Glenn gagged.

"Later," Rick replied. "Alright, everyone got gloves?"

Everyone held their hands out towards the cut-up corpse while Airianna wandered over to the other side of the room with Eren. Morales, Andrea, and T-Dog proceeded to place guts and blood all over Rick and Glenn while they stood as still as could be. Rick was acting fine about the whole thing, but Glenn was gagging and groaning, muttering about how much he hated this idea.

"Think about something else," Rick suggested. "Puppies and Kittens."

"_Dead _puppies and kittens," T-Dog added.

His statement pushed Glenn over the edge because he turned around and threw up.

"That's just evil," Andrea berated. "What's wrong with you?"

"Next time, let the cracker beat his ass," Jacqui said in agreement with Andrea.

"I'm sorry, yo," T-Dog apologizes while rubbing more guts all over Glenn.

Rick tried to change the subject, "Do we smell like them?"

"Oh yeah," Andrea coughed. She pulled out her gun and handed it to Glenn. "Glenn, just in case." He grabbed it and tucked it into the waistband of his pants.

"If we make it back to be ready," Rick instructed.

"What about Merle Dixon?" T-Dog asked. Rick pulled out the handcuff key and passed it to him. He and Glenn then opened the door and left.

Everyone ran up to the rooftop to watch them as they went through the street.

"Hey is that damn cop wandering out on the streets with the handcuff key!?" Merle asked with a streak of worry in his voice. T-Dog smugly pulled out the key and swung it around a bit. Merle glared at him with rage obvious on his face. The African man smirked and turned back to the show going down on the street. The group watched with an earnest as Glenn and Rick slowly shuffled through the maze of dead stumbling bodies. T-Dog started messing with the radio again and successfully got someone on the other line. The others began to listen to the conversation while they also kept an eye on their group members on the ground.

"Base camp? Do you read me?"

"T-Dog, you need - speak up- bad on - end." It seemed that whoever was talking on the other side could barely hear the other side as well.

"Shane, Shane! Is that you?"

"We're trapped in a department store, but we are getting help. We may get out if we're lucky."

Nothing came in from the other side except static. T-Dog sighed and leaned back on the ledge of the building. Everyone put all of their attention back onto watching the original plan since it seemed that they were not getting any outside help. Glenn and Rick seemed to be doing fine until the rain started to come down.

"Don't worry, sprinkles like this pass by quick," Morales tried to allay the fears of the others as they watched as the pair started to run from the dead. They made it to one of the trucks but started to drive the other way.

"Oh my god, they're leaving us!" Andrea screamed out.

"No, they're not. They're turning around, calm down honey," Airianna said to quiet down Andrea.

They all started to head down to the loading dock of the store when T-Dog remembered about Merle needing the key to get out. He ran back up and Airianna was about to follow him when Morales pulled her along with him as he went down the stairs.

"It's okay. T-Dog has him. He'll make sure Merle gets on the truck."

"One can hope can't they."

The group ran into the loading dock just as the van pulled backward. They waited a few seconds until Rick pulled the back door open. Morales pushed the mother and child in and she ran to sit up in the front next to the driver's seat. She looked down to make sure Eren was alright and it seemed as if he was as stoic as ever. The rest of the small group quickly grabbed all the supplies and bags that they had come to get before jumping into the back of the cube van.

"Wait!" Andrea shot her head around to T-Dog's yell as he came running with walkers on his tail. He jumped into the van just before one grabbed him. "I'm in!"

"Go!" Andrea cried as Rick slammed on the gas pedal and Morales shut the back of the truck. Airianna noticed that Merle was not with T-Dog and glared at the wheezing man. She knew that Daryl would not take it well when he hears that Merle got left behind.

"Where's Merle?" She asked with worry and slight sadness in her voice. Everyone tensed up when she spoke.

"I dropped the damn key." T- Dog finally said, breaking the silence and answering Airianna's question. Airianna sighed and shut her eyes. She then reopened them and shot her gaze towards Rick.

"Where's Glenn?"

Rick glanced at her with a small smile on his face and chuckled a bit.

"He's fine, just taking a little joy ride."


	5. Chapter 5

Apart from Morales giving Rick directions to the camp, the van was as quiet as a tomb. She figured they either had some form of survivor's guilt or other more personal thoughts on their mind.

"Best not dwell on it-Merle getting left behind," Morales spoke up from his spot in the back while worriedly eyeing the mother and child duo. "Nobody at the camp is going to miss him. Except...maybe Daryl."

"Daryl?" Rick questioned.

"His brother. My husband," Airianna muttered under her breath. Another awkward silence fell over the people in the truck, only to be broken by the sound of a car alarm growing louder and louder. Airianna glanced out the window to see Glenn in a red sports car speeding down the road.

"At least somebody's having a good day," Morales chuckled.

It was around another ten minutes of traveling higher up the slight hills outside of Atlanta before they pulled up behind a small church van. Airianna looked out to see a fairly large group staring at the cube van that just pulled up to the well out of way campsite. They all seemed to be talking about something between each other, most likely Glenn's car that was blaring up the mountain a few minutes before. She craned her neck around in hopes of catching the deep blue eyes of her husband, but no such luck.

Morales reached the front of the van and put a hand on the mother's shoulder and then put his other one on Rick's. "Come meet everybody," he urged them before leaving. Airianna sighed before she opened her door and stepped out to face the group. When she did the other people in the camp shot their eyes over at her. She recognized a few of the people, namely Lori and Carl, Rick's family. She met them shortly after his surgery all those months ago. She also caught the figure of Shane, Rick's best friend, who she also met after his surgery, lingering in the back of the group with a suspicious look upon his face.

She also saw Dale, a man that was married to one of the cancer patients that she treated. And judging by the way the older male was wandering towards her he recognized her as well.

"Doctor Roy? Is that you?" Dale slowly approached her with shock on his face.

"Hello, it's lovely to see you again. How are you doing?" Airianna watched as he glanced between herself and her son nestled in her arms.

"I'm fine. Is that your son Eren you always told my wife and me about?"

"Yeah, would you want to hold him?" He smiled and nodded his head. The young woman unclipped Eren from his baby jacket and passed him to the older man. He smiled as Eren's small hands gripped his shirt and tugged on the fabric.

"Hey, helicopter boy! Come say hello!" Morales called out. The doctor glanced back at the van and noticed Rick had lingered back as the rest of the supply run group had already exited the vehicle. Everyone glanced toward the van as the other new person got out. "The guy's a cop, just like you," she heard Morales say to Shane. She frowned as Shane's face went pale and Lori and Carl's faces were covered with surprise and happiness. Surely a man would be happy to see his best friend alive?

"Oh my god..." she heard Rick mutter under his breath.

"DAD!" She turned to see Carl sprinting to his father and Rick started to do the same when he saw his child. They crashed into each other and fell to the ground clinging to each other as if either one could disappear at any moment. Lori hesitated before she too ran over to hug her husband and her son. Airianna was happy for the family to be back together again.

While the family was enjoying their reunion, Glenn wandered over to the elderly man and the red-headed woman, "So you know Dale?"

"Ironically I seem to know a lot of people here. I helped treat Dale's wife, and I was the one to perform Rick's surgery. Meaning that I ended up meeting Lori, Shane, and Carl as well." Everyone in the camp caught her words and looked to Shane and Lori as they both nodded their heads.

"I never did get to thank you for that. You're probably the only reason he's here right now," Lori walked over and shook Arianna's hand.

"Well, you're welcome I guess? I just did my job ma'am." Airianna shook her hand back and then turned to Dale. He smiled and handed her son back to her. "This is my son, Eren. He's six months old."

The people around the camp, especially the small 10-year-old girl, seemed happy to see a child that young still breathing air. "That's a real baby, right? I mean, there's kids around camp, but they're way older," a blonde girl that looked about sixteen or seventeen years old spoke up.

"Amy don't be rude. That is a real baby. Now stop poking your nose into other's personal business," Andrea said to the blonde girl, Amy. Perhaps they were sisters?

Lori shook her head a bit and chuckled, "Anyway, We were just about to start making dinner. Do you want to help us make dinner or get situated?"

"Would it be a problem if I put down my stuff? It would be great to take this carrier jacket off."

"Sure. Glenn can help you find an empty tent or you can share with someone else," Dale said while patting the young man on the shoulder.

Glenn nodded his head and they both walked away while Airianna was carrying Eren. Glenn sighed and started leading her to an area of the camp that only had one tent that was placed pretty far away from the others, most likely on purpose. "I'm guessing you will want to stay here. It's Daryl and Merle's tent. Daryl's been out hunting since yesterday, so you will have to wait until he gets back."

"I'm fine waiting and thank you for showing me to his tent Glenn. That's very considerate." Glenn blushed a bit and walked away.

Airianna stepped inside the tent and saw that one half was a clean as a whistle and the other half was a pigsty, the sides separated by a large cooler in the middle of the tent. She easily guessed that Daryl's side was the clean one and proceeded to tidy up the rest of the tent and then unpack a few of her things. She sorted out the air mattress on the left side and moved the cooler that the boys had used as a nightstand to the left corner of the tent, so she could push the beds together, creating a makeshift double bed. Then she opened the cooler and breathed a sigh of relief at the emptiness of it. It was not out of the ordinary for the two brothers to store remains from their hunts in any form of cooler. Since it was empty and clean she pulled out a blanket and a small pillow from her bag and laid them inside the cooler. She then laid Eren down in his new "crib". It may not be like his crib back at home, but it would do for now.

After Eren was settled, she placed her backpack next to the bed and changed her dirty clothes for some clean ones. She also changed Eren into a different onesie and giggled at the fussiness he exhibited. She then spent the next few hours or so sorting out the rest of her belongings, but paused in her organization when she caught the shape of a book sticking out from one of the duffle bags from Daryl's corner of the tent. She pulled it out and smiled at the small handmade picture album he had brought with him from their home. She flipped to one of her favorite pages, Daryl and her's wedding day. She remembered that Daryl was a blushing mess as he said his vows to her. It always made her giggle thinking about it. She looked over to Eren only to see that he had fallen asleep. She decided to go and help Lori and the other women cook dinner for everyone at camp while he was napping.

Night had fallen quickly, and everyone had gathered around the multiple campfires for dinner. Airianna sat at one that many of the others were sitting at. Eren was in her lap playing with the small plush deer he loved to death. She sat between Glenn and Dale and listened as Rick was telling everyone how he felt when he woke up from his coma.

"Disoriented-I guess that comes closest," Rick attempted to explain. "Disoriented... fear, confusion-all those things. But...disoriented comes the closest."

"Words can be meager things," Dale added. "Sometimes they fall short."

Rick nodded in agreement. "Felt like I had been ripped out of my life and put somewhere else. For a while, I thought I was trapped in some coma dream, something I might not wake up from, ever."

"Mom said you died..." Carl muttered.

Rick looked to his wife before smiling down at his son. "She had every reason to believe that. Don't you ever doubt it."

"When things started to get really bad, they told me at the hospital that they were gonna med-evac you and the other patients to Atlanta," Lori explained. "And it never happened."

"Well, I'm not surprised after Atlanta fell. And from the look of that hospital, it got overrun."

"Yeah, looks don't deceive," Shane spoke up. "I barely got them out, ya know?" he said, nodding to Lori and Carl.

"I can't tell you how grateful I am to you, Shane," Rick conveyed. "I can't begin to express it."

"There go those words falling short again," Dale said with a smile. "Paltry things."

Everyone fell silent, each of them seemed to get lost in their own thoughts. Airianna thought about her family. She was lost in her own memory of escaping the hospital when the sound of a log being thrown into a fire pulled her back to reality. She looked towards the sound, to where a family of three was sitting around another fire off to the right. The father-whose name she believed was Ed-had added another log to their fire while the mother tightened her grip around the little girl who seemed so happy to see Eren earlier that day.

Shane noticed as well and called out. "Hey, Ed? You wanna rethink that log?"

"It's cold, man," Ed replied.

"Cold don't change the rules, does it? We keep our fires low, just embers, so we can't be seen from a distance, right?"

"I said, it's cold," Ed bit back. " You should mind your own business for once."

Shane got up from where he was sitting and walked over to the family. "You sure you wanna have this conversation, man?" he asked softly.

Ed stared up at Shane before turning to his wife. "Go on. Pull the damn thing out."

The woman immediately got up and pulled the log out of the fire. Shane shook his head at this before walking over and crushing the log under his boot. Once the embers were out, he knelt next to Ed's wife.

"Hey Carol, Sophia," he whispered. "How are y'all this evening?"

"Fine," Carol said almost dismissively. "We're just fine." She glanced at Ed, who just stared at her with an almost hateful look on his face, before leaning over to Shane. "I'm sorry about the fire."

"No, no, no. No apology needed. Y'all have a good night, okay?"

Carol smiled slightly. "Thank you." Shane then got to his feet and wandered back over to the fire that most of the others were still at watching the whole altercation. Airianna stared at Ed with a look of disgust on her face. She had seen that look plenty of times in her lifetime, personally and professionally. Working as a doctor she had watched a lot of women come in with broken bones or bruises and their husbands or boyfriends would make some silly excuse while giving them that exact look. That look of utter contempt which had no place in any healthy relationship.

She had also seen it once when she was about sixteen and Daryl was eighteen. She went over to his house to pick him up so they could study for school. His dad was on the porch with him when she drove up, and when he was walking to her car she saw him giving Daryl that same horrible look. He later told her what happened in his household and whenever she saw his father after that she gave him the same look back.

"Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon?" Dale asked once everything had settled back down. "he won't be happy to hear his brother was left behind."

"I'll tell him," T-Dog offered. "I dropped the key. It's on me."

"I cuffed him," Rick argued. "that makes it mine."

"Guys it's not a competition," Glenn jumped in. "I don't mean to bring race into this, but it might sound better coming from a white guy." Airianna rolled her eyes at his suggestion.

"I did what I did," T-Dog grunted. "Hell if I'm gonna hide it."

"We could lie," Amy suggested.

"Or tell the truth," Andrea contradicted her. "Merle was out of control. Something had to be done or he'd have gotten us killed." She looked up to Lori. "Your husband did what was necessary. And if Merle got left behind, it's nobody's fault but Merle's."

"And that's what we _tell_ Daryl?" Dale asked in disbelief. "I don't see a rational discussion to be had from that, do you? Word to the wise: we're gonna have our hands full when he gets back from his hunt."

"I was scared, and I ran," T-Dog admitted. "I'm not ashamed of it."

"We were all scared; we all ran," Airianna pointed out. "What's your point?"

"I stopped long enough to chain that door," he replied, and everyone looked at him in realization. "Staircase is narrow. Maybe half a dozen Geeks can squeeze against it at any one time. But it's not enough to break through there-not that chain, not that padlock." He paused. "My point: Dixon's alive, and he's still up there, handcuffed on that roof. That's on us."

With that, T-Dog got up and walked away towards his tent. The group watched him leave and then their eyes were drawn t the sound of the doctor grunting as she got up and grabbed Eren. "We're going to head to bed as well. If you want I can talk to Daryl about it tomorrow."

Rick and Glenn looked up in realization, "Yes. That may be a better idea." Glenn said quickly. Airianna smiled and wished everyone a goodnight.

Airianna woke up to the sound of screams which chilled her to the bone.

"Momma!"

"Mom!"

She quickly jumped out of bed and grabbed Eren out of his bed and ran out of the tent. She followed the noises to an area of the camp that was away from the main part. She saw most of the women holding the kids a bit farther away. She took a breath of relief at the sight of them unharmed but glanced over to see all of the men surrounding a deer and a walker without its head.

"Son of a bitch." She looked up to the person who spoke and teared up at the sound of her husband's voice, even if he was pissed off. "That's _my_ deer!" He cried. "Look at it...all gnawed on by this filthy, disease-bearin', motherless, proxy bastard!"

Yep, same old Daryl.

"Calm down, son," Dale said. "That's not helping."

Daryl snapped around to face Dale. "What do you know about it, old man?" he spat. "Why don't you take that hat and go back to 'On Golden Pond'?" He walked back towards the deer and pulled his arrows out of its body. "I've been tracking this deer for miles. I was gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison. What do ya think? You think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?" he asked, motioning to the deer's open throat.

"I would not risk that," Shane answered.

Daryl sighed in disappointment. "That's a damn shame...I got some squirrel-about a dozen or so. That'll have to do."

He huffed and kept his eyes to ground passing the group of onlookers and almost made it away from the crowd when a familiar voice caught his ear, "Daryl?"

He turned his head to the side a bit and froze when the red hair and warm brown eyes entered his line of sight. He threw his game to the ground and rushed over to his lost family members, pulling them into a crushing hug. He sniffled into his wife's hair but held back his damn tears, Dixons don't cry for nothing. Airianna hugged back with one arm while the other held Eren close to both of them.

"I thought I would never see you two again," He pulled away and furrowed his brows. "Don't you do somethin' as stupid as that ever again."

"Daryl, all I did was go into work." Airianna giggled while smiling at her best friend. Daryl looked down at his son and smiled.

"Hey lil' man. How you holdin' up?" He carefully grabbed him from his mother's arms and did something that surprised everyone watching the reunion, he pulled the kid close to him and started to rock him back and forth as if he had done it a million times. Eren looked up at Daryl, started giggling, patted his hand against his father's cheek, and squealed out, "Dada!"

And a calm feeling settled over the camp, but it would not last long at all.


	6. Chapter 6

Daryl smiled at Airianna and then handed their son back to her. He then picked up his pile of squirrels and leaned over to Airianna to kiss her cheek. She blushed and smiled at him. He smirked at her flushed face and then started to walk towards the tents with a pep in his step that not even his dirtbag brother could mess with.

"Merle!" Daryl called as he strutted into the camp with his wife and son following close behind. "Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel! Let's stew 'em up!"

"Daryl?" Shane called out to him as he placed his shotgun in the Jeep. "Just slow up a bit. I need to talk to you." Airianna stopped next to Andrea and Amy because she knew that the conversation would soon go south.

Daryl stopped and turned to him. "About what?"

"About Merle. There was a, uh...there was a problem in Atlanta."

He paused, glancing around the camp to look for his brother. When he didn't find him, he turned to his wife only to see her looking down at the ground as if she couldn't look him in the eye. He tensed and turned back to Shane.

"He dead?"

"We're not sure," Shane admitted.

"He either is or he ain't!" Daryl said, his voice rising.

Rick then stepped forward. "There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just say it," he said.

"Who are you?"

"Rick Grimes."

"Rick _Grimes_?" Daryl repeated, his voice slightly sarcastic on his last name. "You got sumthin' you wanna tell me?"

"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal. He's still there," Rick explained. He obviously felt no guilt in that. He had done the right thing in cuffing Merle, and he knew it. It was just the last bit that he was guilty about.

Daryl turned away from Rick. "Hold on," he said. His voice was shaking slightly now, and he had to wipe at his eyes. "Let me process this." When he turned back, Airianna saw that his eyes were a bit red. He was obviously holding back tears. "You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof, and you left him there!?" he yelled. The red-headed woman stepped closer to him out of instinct.

Rick paused and looked toward Airianna before nodding. "Yeah."

She immediately saw it coming, Daryl's chin was quivering slightly, and he was trying to hide it by frowning angrily at Rick. He took a few steps back as if he was going to walk off, and then he tossed his line of squirrels at Rick. Shane seemed to have seen it coming as well because he tackled Daryl before he could take more than one step towards Rick. This just made Daryl angrier, and he pulled a knife from its holder at his waist. Rick started pacing around Daryl while Shane got into a defensive position, shuffling back a few steps.

"Watch the knife!" T-Dog cried.

Daryl rolled onto his feet and took a swing at Rick with his knife. Rick easily dodged it by taking a quick step back, and Daryl tried again. Rick grabbed his wrist this time and turned his hand away from him. Shane took this time to sneak up behind Daryl and grabbed him in a chokehold. While Daryl was struggling against Shane, Rick made him drop the knife by putting pressure on his wrist.

"You'd best let me go!" Daryl shouted.

"Nah, I think it's better if I don't," Shane replied calmly as he lowered Daryl to the ground.

"Choke hold's illegal," he grunted.

"You can file a complaint." When Daryl just continued to struggle, even though his face was getting red and he was having to gasp for breath, Shane tightened his hold slightly. "Come on, man. We'll keep this up all day."

Rick knelt down in front of Daryl, but he kept far enough back that he couldn't reach him. "I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic," he said. "Do you think we can manage that?" When Daryl didn't respond, he just repeated himself more forcefully. "Do you think we can manage that?"

Daryl glanced at his wife who was watching the scene unfold with worry in her eyes, and he slightly nodded his head. Shane seemed to have noticed because he let him go. He and Rick backed up a couple of steps while Daryl scooted back on the dirt. He pointed up at Shane threateningly while he struggled to catch his breath.

Rick returned to Daryl's side. "What I did was not on a whim," he continued now that Daryl wasn't trying to kill him. "Your brother does not play nice with others."

"It's not Rick's fault," T-Dog spoke up. "I had the key. I dropped it."

"You couldn't pick it up?" Daryl snapped.

"I dropped it down a drain," he explained.

Daryl snorted and slowly climbed back onto his feet, gripping a handful of dirt as he went. Once he was steady, he looked at T-Dog and started walking along the side of the RV. "If that's supposed to make me feel better, it don't," he said, tossing the handful of dirt to the side.

"Well, maybe this will. Look, I chained the door to the roof so the Geeks couldn't get at him. With a padlock." Daryl just stared at him, obviously not really comforted by this.

"It's gotta count for something," Rick tried.

Daryl looked between him and T- Dog, Airianna saw tears gathering in his eyes again. His face scrunched up slightly, and she noticed a tear escape the corner of his eye before he wiped it away.

"To hell with all of y'all!" He yelled. "Just tell me where he is so I can go get him," he demanded.

"He'll show you," Lori said from the doorway of the RV.

Rick nodded his head, "I'm going back."

Daryl huffed angrily marched to his tent. Airianna glanced at everyone else apologetically and then followed after him. When she walked in she saw that he was sitting on the bed and was looking through the photo album that she found the previous day.

"Hey, honey. Are you okay?" She sat on the bed with him and put Eren on her knee. She wrapped an arm around Daryl's waist and leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder, so she could see the page he was on. It was the first Christmas they had spent together when she was seven and Daryl was nine. She had just moved to his neighborhood and befriended him around that time, so her parents insisted that he and his brother come for Christmas dinner. She smirked at a photo of the two brothers in baggy flannel pajamas wrestling with each other on the floor in front of the Christmas tree.

"That was one of the best days of my life."

"Why's that Daryl?" He looked over at his wife and smiled.

"It was when I knew I loved ya," he leaned over to her and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

"Awe, don't be getting sappy on me now Dixon. Not after that mess out there."

He looked at her with guilt in his eyes. "Sorry about that. I'm just pissed that they left a part of my family behind. When I get back with him we can all be together again."

She glanced up at him with amusement in her eyes. "When you get back? No. When _we_ get back. I'm not letting you go without me. Remember we stick together. I'm not letting you out of my sight for a minute."

"What about Eren? We can't have him in that city with us. Hell will break loose with a baby on board."

"I'll ask Dale or Andrea to watch him. They're both capable of doing it." Daryl gave his wife a questioning look before sighing. He knew that when she set her mind to something there was no turning back.

"Alright, Just be ready to go soon," Daryl got up after that, gave her another kiss, and exited the tent. Airianna slung her rifle over her shoulder, grabbed her handgun and some knives, picked up her and then headed to go find Andrea and her sister.

"Hey Andrea, Amy!" The two sisters turned around at the woman's voice. "Would you two mind watching Eren while Daryl and I go to get Merle?"

Amy picked Eren up from his mother's arms and spun him around. "Sure, we'll be fine doing that. Are you sure you want to go?" Andrea asked while watching her sister play with the infant.

"Yeah, I'm the only doctor we got at the moment. And knowing Merle he probably has already hurt himself." Andrea nodded at that and then walked away with Amy and Eren in tow.

"Why would you risk your life for a douche-bag like Merle Dixon?" Airianna turned her head to the sound of Shane's voice and walked to where he and Rick were.

"Hey," Daryl called from the fire pit. "Choose your words more carefully."

"Oh no, I did. Douche-bag's what I meant," Shane replied. " Merle Dixon," he scoffed.

"The guy wouldn't give you a glass of water if you were dying of thirst."

"What he would or wouldn't do doesn't interest me," Rick answered. "_I_ can't let a man die of thirst-me. Thirst and exposure. We left him like an animal caught in a trap. That's no way for anything to die, let alone a human being."

"So you and Daryl?" Lori asked. "That's your big plan?"

Rick turned to the Asian man expectantly. Glenn sagged as he realized what Rick wanted. "Oh come on..."

"You know the way," he explained. "You've been there before-in and out, no problem. You said so yourself. It's not fair of me to ask-I know that-but I'd feel a lot better with you along. I know she would too," he added, motioning to his wife.

"That's just great," Shane said. "Now you're gonna risk three men?"

"Four," T-Dog corrected him.

Daryl looked back at T-Dog and scoffed, turning back to clean his arrows. "My day just keeps getting better and better, don't it?"

You see anybody else here stepping up to save your brother's cracker ass?"

"Why you?"

"You wouldn't even begin to understand. You don't speak my language."

"That's four," Dale said.

"Five," Airianna said while walking closer.

"It's not just five," Shane argued. "You're putting every single one of us at risk. Just know that, Rick. I mean, come on, you saw that walker. It was _here_. It was in _camp_. They're moving outta the cities. They come back, we need every able body we got. We need them 'em here. We need 'em to _protect_ the camp."

"Seems to me what you really need are more guns," Rick countered.

"Right..." Glenn said, realizing what Rick was saying. "The guns..."

"Wait, what guns?" Shane wondered.

"Six shotguns, two high-powered rifles, over a dozen handguns," Rick answered. "I cleaned out the cage back at the station before I left. Airianna and I dropped the bag back in Atlanta when we got swarmed. It's just sitting there on the street."

"Ammo?" Shane asked.

"Seven hundred rounds, assorted," Rick replied.

"You went through hell to find us," Lori reminded him. "You just got here, and you're gonna turn around and leave?" she said in disbelief.

"Dad, I don't want you to go," Carl said.

"To hell with guns," Lori went on. "Shane's right. _Merle Dixon_? He's not worth one of your lives, even with guns thrown in."

Rick ran a hand through his hair as he approached his wife.

"Tell me," she urged him. "Make me understand."

"I owe a debt to a man I met," Rick explained. "and his little boy."

While Rick was trying to explain his reasoning Airianna went over to where Amy was with Eren and kissed him on the head. She then walked over to the campfire and sat next to Daryl and started to clean one of her knives.

A few minutes later she, Daryl, Glenn, and T-Dog were waiting in the truck while Rick was getting bolt cutters from Dale and Jim. Airianna jumped when the horn to the van started blaring. She looked over only to see that Daryl had slammed his foot against it. "Come on, let's go!" Daryl called impatiently. She lightly grabbed Daryl's arm and he slid down to sit next to her.

"Hey Rick, got any rounds in the Python?" Shane asked as he walked up to the van.

"No," Rick said.

"Last time we were on the gun range, I'm sure I wound up with a few loose rounds of yours," he said while shuffling through a large duffle bag.

Rick chuckled. "You and that bag, like the bottom of an old lady's purse."

"I hate that you're doing this man. I think that it's foolish and reckless, but if you're gonna go, you're taking bullets."

"I'm not so sure I want to fire in the city after what happened last time." Rick breathed out.

"That's up to you," he said while pulling out a few rounds. "Well...five men, five rounds. What're the odds, huh? Well, let's just hope that uh...Let's just hope five is your lucky number, okay?"

Rick took the bullets. "Thank you." He then got into the passenger's seat next to Glenn and they drove off in the direction of the city.

Airianna was leaning against Daryl for most of the ride with her head on his shoulder and his head on hers. T-Dog just awkwardly sat on the other side of the van glancing at them every so often.

"He'd better be okay," Daryl said threateningly. "It's my only word on the matter."

"I told you, the Geeks can't get at him," T- Dog repeated. "The only thing that's gonna get through that door is us."

Glenn stopped the van soon after that. "We walk from here," he said while getting out of the van.

"Merle first or guns?" Rick asked Glenn, but Daryl was the one to reply.

"Merle! We ain't even havin' this conversation!"

"We are," Rick bit back. He turned back to Glenn. "You know the geography. It's your call."

"Merle's closest," Glenn agreed with Daryl. "The guns would mean doubling back. Merle first."

They snuck through the city into the department store that they were just in the day before. They all stopped at the sound of shuffling feet from across the store. They quietly slipped through the clothes rack until they saw a walker that was stumbling around. Daryl snuck towards the walker and it noticed him and started growling. "Damn, you are one ugly skank," Daryl shot an arrow into its skull as it shuffled towards him, killing the decomposed body once and for all.

They hurried up the stairs to the roof, Rick in the lead. Luckily, any of the walkers that had gone up there had cleared out. T-Dog went to the front and cut through the chain with the bolt cutters. As soon as it was broken, Daryl tore it from the door and kicked open the door.

"Merle!" he shouted as he and T-Dog ran out onto the roof. "Merle!"

The others followed them onto the roof, but everyone except Daryl stopped at what was in front of them.

On the floor where they had left Merle was a human hand lying in a small pool of blood, next to a bloody hand saw and a belt. Airianna's heart dropped in her stomach. She knew that Merle must have thought he was left for dead, so he did what was necessary, but she worried about how much blood he could've lost. She wondered if he was even still alive.

They all stood and watched helplessly as Daryl went into hysterics.


	7. Chapter 7

Daryl hadn't snapped yet from what was in front of them, but Airianna could tell that he was getting closer and closer to it. She watched his breathing get harder and she caught Glenn's arm before he could follow T-Dog and Rick as they approached her husband. Just as Airianna had predicted, Daryl snapped and turned to aim his crossbow at T-Dog. Rick seemed to have expected it as well because, in the same moment, he pulled back the hammer on his Python and aimed it at the side of Daryl's head. Daryl froze, but he didn't take his eyes off of T-Dog.

"I won't hesitate," Rick threatened forcefully. "I don't care if every walker in the city hears it."

Daryl squeezed his eyes shut, but still kept his crossbow up. Airianna started walking towards the trio.

"Daryl, please," She said as if she was demanding instead of asking.

At that Daryl slowly lowered his crossbow almost shamefully. Rick kept his gun pressed to Daryl's head for a moment, only lowering it after he was sure Daryl had calmed down.

"You got a, uh... a do-rag or sumthin'?" Daryl asked. T-Dog stared at him for a bit before slowly pulling out a blue bandana from his pocket. Daryl took the bandana and carefully laid it next to Merle's hand. "I guess the, uh, saw blade was too dull for the handcuffs," he said aloud while picking up the hand by the pinkie and laying it on the bandana. "Ain't that a bitch?" he muttered to himself. He then wrapped the rest of the bandana on top of the hand. Daryl then stood and motioned for Glenn to turn around so he could put the hand in his backpack.

Daryl grabbed his crossbow and went back to the bloody scene to examine it.

"He must've used a tourniquet. Maybe his belt. Otherwise, there would be more blood. At least now we know he listened to my conversations a little bit." Airianna mumbled to Daryl while she observed the blood as well. Daryl started following the trail of blood to the other side of the roof.

The trail of blood led them onto the connecting rooftop and into the next building. Daryl paused to ready his crossbow and then headed inside.

"Merle!" he cried down the staircase. "You in here?"

Everyone followed him down the stairs and into a hallway off of the main hall. They all froze when they heard a slight shuffling to their right. Daryl walked into the room and the others waited until they heard him fire to follow. Daryl reached the main room first, and Airianna stepped around him, looking around the room in surprise. There were two dead walkers on the floor and a bloody wrench that must have come from the tool bag back on the roof. The kills looked relatively fresh, which meant it must've been Merle. She was surprised that he had that much strength after all the blood he had lost.

"Had enough in him to take out these two sumbitches, one-handed," Daryl bragged as he reloaded his crossbow. "Toughest ass-hole I've ever met, my brother. Feed him a hammer, he'd crap out nails."

"Any man can pass out from blood loss," Rick argued, "No matter how tough he is."

Airianna spared a glance at Glenn before continuing.

"Merle?" Daryl called out as they snuck through another doorway.

"We're not alone here," Rick reminded him in a quiet voice. "Remember?"

"Screw that," he huffed. "He could be bleedin' out. You said so yourself."

Airianna followed them inside of a kitchen. The smell of burnt flesh caused her to recoil for a moment and when she noticed the charred flesh on the lit stove she realized Merle had listened to her far more than she had originally thought. She watched as Rick picked up the melted skin and frowned in disgust when he too realized what it was.

"What's that burned stuff?" Glenn asked as he moved up behind her.

"Skin," she answered. "He cauterized the stump."

"Told you he was tough," Daryl said from beside his wife. "Nobody can kill Merle but Merle."

"Don't take that on faith," Rick warned him. "He's lost a lot of blood."

"Yeah?" Daryl asked as he made his way to a broken window. "Didn't stop him from breakin' outta this death trap."

"He left the building?" Glenn asked in disbelief. "Why the hell would he do that?"

"Why wouldn't he?" Daryl retorted. "He's out there alone, as far as he knows. Doin' what he's gotta do, survivn'."

"You call that surviving? Just wanderin' out in the streets, maybe passin' out? What are his odds out there?" T-Dog asked.

"No worse than bein' handcuffed and left to rot by you sorry pricks," Daryl spat. "You couldn't kill him. I ain't so worried about some dumb dead bastard."

"What about a thousand dumb dead bastards?" Rick countered. "Different story?"

Why don't you take a tally? Do what you want. I'm gonna go get him."

"Daryl, wait!" Airianna cried out as Rick grabbed him and pushed him away from the window.

He slapped Rick's hand away. "Get your hands off me! You can't stop me!"

"I don't blame you," Rick tried to calm him down. "He's family, I get that. I went through hell to find mine. I know exactly how you feel. But you have family here too, and you need to have her back. He can't get far with that injury. We could help you check a few blocks, but only if we keep a level head."

Daryl huffed but spared a glance at his wife, "I could do that."

Rick nodded and looked over to T-Dog as Daryl walked towards Airianna. "Only if we get those guns first," T-Dog answered Rick's unasked question. "I'm not strolling the streets of Atlanta with just my good intentions, okay?"

Later everyone was sitting inside some room further within the facility. They crowded around an area of the room that had desks pushed out of the way watching Glenn stretch a crude map of the city on the ground in sharpie. Airianna sat on one of the desks with Daryl sitting behind her so her back was against his chest and his arms were wrapped around her waist. His head was resting on her shoulder as they both observed what Glenn was doing.

Airianna shook her head, "No way Glenn."

"Airi's right," Rick agreed. "You're not doing this alone."

"Even I think it's a bad idea," Daryl added. "and I don't even like you much."

Glenn rolled his eyes, "It's a good idea, okay? If you just hear me out...If we go out there in a group, we're slow, drawing attention. If I'm alone, I can move fast. Look.." He placed a paper clump in the main alley of the diagram on the floor. "That's the tank-five blocks away from where we are now." He put a crumpled sticky note down by it. "That's the bag of guns." He motioned to the alley. "Here's the alley I dragged you guys into when we first met. That's where Daryl, Airi, and I will go."

"Why us?"

"Your crossbow and her knives are quieter than his gun."

"While Daryl and Airi wait here in the alley," Glenn explained while placing a container of white-out strips in the alley pointed to, "I run up the street, grab the bag."

"But you got us elsewhere?" Rick asked.

"You and T-Dog, right," Glenn said. He put an eraser down on an alley two blocks away from Airianna and Daryl's spot. "You two will be in the alley here."

"Two blocks away? Why?"

"I may not be able to come back the same way. Walkers might cut me off. If that happens, I won't go back to Daryl and Airi. I'll go forward instead, all the way around to that alley where you guys are. Whichever direction I go, I got you in both places to cover me." Glenn glanced up after his explanation.

"Afterwards we'll all meet back here."

"Hey, kid, what'd you do before all this?" Daryl asked.

"Delivered pizzas," he replied, confused. "Why?"

Airianna, Glenn, and Daryl ducked behind a dumpster in the alley where she and Rick met Glenn for the first time. Daryl and Airianna readied their weapons while Glenn got ready to sprint towards the precious duffle bag. "You got some balls for a chinaman," Daryl commented as he notched an arrow on his crossbow.

"I'm Korean," Glenn corrected him.

"Whatever."

Daryl jumped a bit when he was smacked on the arm by his wife and shot her a joking dirty look. She winked at Glenn and motioned for him to get ready, and she held her knives in a throwing position as Glenn took off down the street. She was paying attention to the front of the alley when a boy's voice called out. "Ayúdame!" She looked back to see a young Hispanic boy standing still yelling while Daryl kept his crossbow in his face.

"Daryl!" she was about to pull Daryl off of him when someone else did it for her. Two men had shown up and one began to beat the shit out of Daryl with a baseball bat while the other one grabbed her. As she was struggling with the brute who had grabbed her, Glenn ran around the corner. She had tried to motion for him to leave when a car pulled up and another man stepped out and grabbed Glenn. "Glenn, watch out!"

"That's it! That's the bag, vato! Take it! Take it!" The man that was holding her called out as he started to drag her to the car. She kept trying to get out of his grip, flailing her legs and arms around her body while calling out for her husband and Glenn but she was unsuccessful.

"Ahhh!" She heard a man behind her and her attacker scream out. As she was struggling, the other man, who now had an arrow in his ass, came around in front of her and her assailant and grabbed Glenn throwing him into the trunk of the car. Then she quickly joined her Korean friend in the trunk and the Hispanic men swiftly held bandanas up to their mouths and noses. Before the chemicals on the cloth caused her to pass out she could faintly hear Daryl's voice crying her name.

When she came to, she was tied to a chair in a dark room with another chair tied to the back of hers. She heard someone else moaning in the other chair and hoped to god it was her friend.

"Glenn? Psst, Glenn is that you?" Airianna whispered as quietly as possible.

"Yeah, Airianna? How did you get here?"

"One of those guys threw me in the car with you. I think they drugged us."

"Oh, well don't worry. They didn't grab the bag, so Rick and the others have something they can trade for us," Glenn breathed out with some relief in his voice. "Hopefully."

"I don't think Rick or Daryl would even think of leaving the city without us, Glenn."

She could feel the back of his head brush against hers, "They wouldn't leave you, you're a doctor and Daryl's wife. Me? I'm just the guy who caused this mess"

She shook her, "That's not true, you're-" Suddenly, someone opened the door to the room as two different men entered and untied them both from the chairs. The pair stayed quiet as they re-tied their wrists and put bags over their heads. They started leading them somewhere, and Airianna noticed how they seemed to hold her arms in a much more careful, almost respectful way compared to the events earlier that day. They were carefully led up a staircase and after the sound of a squeaky door opening, they could feel the sun upon their bodies again.

"Sorry, fresh outta white boys," she and Glenn heard someone below them say. "But I've got a white girl and Asian. Interested?" Right then they were quickly dragged forward and the bags were pulled off their heads. Airianna looked around and tensed as she and Glenn were held on the edge of the building they were on top of. She also glanced down to see Rick and Daryl with the Hispanic boy in front of them. Both of them looked up at her and Glenn, but Daryl was more focused on her.

"You son of a bitch!" she watched as Daryl raised his crossbow at the man that they must've been talking to earlier.

The moment he did that Airianna felt a gun press against the side of her head.

"You don't want any damaged goods, do you?" Daryl glanced up, scoffed, then lowered his crossbow back down.

"I have yours, you have mine," Rick reminded him. "Sounds like an even trade."

"Don't sound even to me," he argued.

"G," the boy begged nervously. "Come on, man."

he man ignored him. "My people got attacked," he said. "Where's the compensation for their pain and suffering? More to the point, where's my bag of guns?"

"Guns?" Rick asked.

"The bag Miguel saw in the street," he explained. "The bag Felipe and Jorge were going back to get. That bag of guns."

"You're mistaken."

"I don't think so."

"About it being yours. It's my bag of guns."

"That bag was in the street. Anybody could come around and say it was theirs. I'm supposed to take your word?" he scoffed. "What's to stop my people from unloading on you right here and now and I take what's mine?" He asked, motioning to the other man on his side. The rest of his men all raised their weapons and stepped towards the two white men.

"You could do that," Rick said, not intimidated at all. He pointed off somewhere and said, "Or not," causing the man to look where he pointed and then call his men to back down.

"I see two options," The man said. "You come back with Miguel and my bag of guns, everybody walks. Or you come back locked and loaded. We'll see which side spills more blood. I can promise if that happens the chica will be the first to go." he finished while pointing up to Airianna as she stared down at the scene. After he finished speaking she and Glenn's bags went back on their heads and they were carefully led back inside.

When Airianna and Glenn were brought back in they were once again placed into a dark room again. They were tied back down and then their bags were removed from their heads. They saw the same Hispanic man that was talking to Rick and Daryl in front of them sitting at a desk.

"Hello, my name is Guillermo. I am the one in charge as you saw earlier. I want to know who you are and if you have any skill sets." The two of them sat there looking at the ground keeping their mouths shut.

"Come on, you two don't need to be like that. Out there, with you two on the roof? It was just a show," he said while looking between them. "If you still don't believe me then," he motioned to someone behind both of them and the person cut the ropes binding the two of them.

"See. We don't want to hurt you two. We just want Miguel and the guns."

"Why did you say you would kill Airi then?" Glenn finally spoke up.

"I could tell that the hillbilly cared for her more than you, so it kept him from freaking out and shooting one of my men again." What he said was true, but it slightly bothered Airianna that he was able to tell how Daryl was feeling so easily.

"My name is Airianna Roy-Dixon, and I was a leading trauma surgeon. Glenn here is our strategy person." Glenn looked at her with surprise and a bit of respect.

"Strategies? Since when?"

"Since you made that smart plan on the floor of an office. It was a well thought out plan, and it would've worked if you and I weren't kidnapped," she said while glaring over at Guillermo.

He glanced at the floor. "Yeah, sorry about that, but your people did get Miguel. You're a doctor? That's mighty useful these days," he looked at Airianna with what she would guess was happiness and relief. Guillermo stood up and flipped a light switch, lighting up the room with ease. "Why don't I show you around? You can even check on some of the patients if you want to."

"Patients?"

"Yeah, this is a nursing home. Most of the staff left when it all started, only Felipe and I stayed. The other vatos trickled in to check on their parents or grandparents. They saw how it was and decided to stay. Which is good since we need the muscle." As he spoke he led Glenn and Airianna down a hallway with doors that were opened which showed bedrooms of all of the elderly staying here. The pair were impressed at their determination to care for the group of older people. Most would ditch the old people believing they wouldn't last, but not all of these men. They were here to protect them. "We sealed all the entrances, but one and the vatos will go out to get supplies to keep us going. And we just wait." Airianna looked at him in realization.

"That's why you took us."

Glenn looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"They thought we were bad people. I mean, Daryl was overreacting when the boy showed up, so they must have thought the worst about us. Appearances." Guillermo nodded to her answer meaning that she was correct. They walked into a large room that must have been the main hall or something like that. There was a large cross on the wall and velvety looking curtains on one of the other walls. Airianna assumed that there must be a stage or something like that behind the curtains. There were a lot of round tables set up with about five or six chairs around each one and the elderly were all over the place. They were reading books, playing board games, and talking to relatives and other elderly that must've been their friends.

Airianna and Glenn were looking around when another large man ran in. He whispered something in Guillermo's ear and he started to walk away. "Oh, you two can just stay in here for now. I'll come to get you if we need anything."

They sat down with some of the elderly and started having small conversations with them. While Glenn spoke with a kind-looking woman petting a small dog, Airianna wandered around and talked to each person about how they were feeling much like she would do if she was making rounds through the hospital. Many of them said that she reminded them of their daughter or granddaughter which made her smile. Suddenly one of the women started rushing over to her and Glenn. "Mr. Gilbert, Mr. Gilbert needs help. Por favor, he needs help."

Airianna quickly stood up and was led to an older black man who was in a wheelchair and was breathing in very short, hurried breaths.

An asthma attack.

She turned around to see that Glenn was off to the side watching and the old lady was in front of her with eyes full of worry. "He's going to be fine, he just needs an inhaler. Do you know who has it?"

The woman nodded her head. "My grandson, Felipe. I'll go get him."

Airianna turned back to the man and tried to keep him calm and kept telling him to take deep breaths of air. The man who was following Guillermo earlier showed up with the old lady and stepped towards the out-of-breath man with the inhaler in his hand. She nodded towards the man and backed up to give him space.

"Alright, it's okay," he soothed the man while handing him his inhaler. "Nice and easy. Just breathe. Just let it out. Just breathe."

"What is this?" Airianna looked over to the man who spoke up and smiled when she saw Daryl. She rushed over to him and the moment he noticed her as well, he opened his arms for her as she ran towards him and he pulled her close into a tight hug.

"An asthma attack," Glenn replied, obviously missing what he was referring to. "Couldn't get his breath all of a sudden."

"I thought you two were being eaten by dogs, man," T-Dog barked. Glenn snorted and turned his head towards the only dogs in the building, three small chihuahuas owns by Mrs. Flemings. Rick glanced towards Glenn and then towards Airianna, who was still being held by her husband before he turned to Guillermo.

"Could I have a word with you?" he commanded more than asked. "Please?" Guillermo nodded, and the two of them moved away from the group.

Daryl slowly pulled away from Airianna and looked in her eyes. "Don't you ever do sumthin' like this again."

"Daryl, I got kidnapped I couldn't control that," he snorted and rolled his eyes, then he pulled her into a long, passionate kiss that showed just how much fear and worry was running through him.

"Hey lovebirds, come on," T-Dog called out to them as he and Glenn followed Rick and Guillermo to another room.

"You have got to be the dumbest son of a bitch I have ever met," Rick snapped in a low voice.

"We walked in here ready to kill every last one of you!"

"Well, I'm glad it didn't go down that way," Guillermo said casually.

"If it had, that blood would be on my hands."

"Mine too," he said. "We'd have fought back. Wouldn't be the first time we've had to. Protect the food, the medicine...What's left of it." He gestured to the room. "These people? The old ones? The staff took off. Just left 'em here to die. Me and Felipe were the only ones who stayed."

"What are you, doctors?" Rick asked more calmly.

"Felipe's a nurse-a special care provider. Me? I'm the custodian." Airianna wasn't able to pay attention to the rest of the conversation. Daryl had pulled her slightly away from the others and was kissing her with all he had.

"Daryl-what're you doing?-we can't do this here," her sentences kept getting cut off by Daryl's kisses. He glanced at her, smirked and started to kiss down her neck trying to find her sweet spot.

"Why the hell not? Every time I think you're safe, you jump your damn hot ass into trouble again. I need ta give ya some incentive to listen to me more often." They snapped out of it when Glenn elbowed Daryl in the ribs which ended up with him glaring at the poor boy and Airianna giggling. They watched as Rick turned his shotgun around and handed it to Guillermo. He then pulled out a few of the handguns, laid them on the table, and added the ammo for each of the guns on the table as well. Guillermo looked at it all with gratitude and then turned back to the lone female of the small group.

"You know, it would be nice if you stayed. You would be a big help around here, being a doctor and all." She smiled when her husband stood in front of her protectively.

"The offer's nice. but I have a son back at camp that needs me and I'm pretty sure my husband here doesn't want me leaving." Guillermo nodded and then showed them to the exit and gave them directions on how to get back to the outskirts of the city undetected. As they were running back to the truck Glenn stared at Rick for a bit.

"Admit it-you only came back to Atlanta for the hat," he joked.

Rick smiled slightly. "Don't tell anybody," he replied wittily.

"You've given away half our guns and ammo," Daryl pointed out.

"Not nearly half," Rick argued

"For what?" he continued as if Rick hadn't spoken. "Bunch of old farts who gonna die off momentarily anyhow? Seriously, how long do you think they got?" This earned him an elbow to the ribs from Airi as she gave him a face that said 'Don't go there'.

"How long do any of us have?" Rick threw back. The five of them rounded a corner to where they started today, only to stop when they all saw that the van wasn't there anymore.

"Oh my God..." Glenn muttered.

"Where the hell's our van?" Daryl asked.

"We left it right there," Glenn said. "Who would take it?"

"Merle," Airianna voiced Rick's thought.

"He's gonna be takin' some vengeance back to camp," Daryl warned.

"Then we better get back," Rick suggested. "Now." Rick managed to lead the group back to camp, all five of them moving at a light sprint. He had memorized the route from when they first made their way up there from Atlanta. But unfortunately, since they were now on foot, it was taking them much longer to get back. It took them until nightfall to even get close to camp.

They were silently jogging along the dirt path when the group of five heard something that made their hearts drop.

The sound of screams and gunshots coming from the direction of the camp.

"Oh my God..." Rick muttered fearfully.

"Oh god, Eren!" Airianna pulled her handgun out and ran off to find her son.

"Go! Go!" Glenn urged the others as they followed after the worried mother.

It seemed like forever until she broke through the tree line surrounding the camp. As soon as she had she started looking around with her gun up and ready to fire. She started shooting at the walkers taking them down one by one. She ran calling for Andrea and Amy, looking towards the RV only to see Andrea crying over Amy's body.

Where the hell was her son?! Why was Andrea not with him?

She heard a guttural sound mixed with wailing on her right, and she turned to see a walker that was making its way towards Eren. She jumped into action and shot the walker and the others that were heading towards her crying son. She sprinted towards him and picked him up, beginning to cry tears of relief as she held him close. She heard a walker behind her and scrambled to turn around and shoot it when she heard it fall over. She turned to see it had an arrow sticking out of its head and saw Daryl making his way over to them. He wrapped them into a tight hug and then pulled them behind him as he made his way to the RV, killing every walker that stood in his way. About five minutes later the fighting was over and everyone that survived the attack was by the RV and holding their loved ones close. Airianna drew herself away from Daryl and grimaced at the carnage left in the wake of the attack.

She stumbled over to Glenn and put an arm around his shoulder, "You alright?" she asked while trying to catch her breath.

"Yeah," Glenn nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay...I'm okay."

She nodded back to him and then turned back to see the same scene she saw earlier. Andrea crouched down next to the RV shaking Amy's bloody body like she was trying to wake her up from the nightmare they were all stuck in.

"No!" Andrea wailed. "Amy! Amy! Amy!"

"I remember my dream now," Jim puffed. "Why I dug the holes."


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks so much for reading, hope everyone is enjoying some apocalyptic reading for quarantine time! Sorry if there are some grammar errors I've been editing my writing in the middle of the night to balance new online classes, my bad there. One reader did point out a mess up with little Eren's age, so to clarify, the tiny boy is 16 months old not 6 months (oops). So he'll be just over 2 years older than Judith when she's born. I will hopefully continue with my pace of chapter release, and I hope you all enjoy them. Happy reading!**

Airianna shivered as she held her son by the campfire which the previous day was full of cheer, but now it only gave off a sense of dread. Carol and Lori sat near the traumatized woman as she glared down the mourning blond a few feet away. The pair felt sorrow for the death of Amy and both worried about Andrea's mental health, but they understood the mother's rage. She had trusted the sisters to protect her son and Andrea chose to leave the child alone during a walker attack to cry for her sister who was already lost. Her son almost got ripped apart, if she had been even a second later...Let's just say that the group would most likely have another body to bury.

"She won't even talk to us," Lori said, gesturing to the blonde. "She's been there all night. What do we do?"

"We can't just leave Amy like that," Shane sighed. "We need to deal with it, same as the others." Rick ran his hand over his face as he tried to assess the situation. He knew that they had to deal with it, but it was obvious that Andrea was in a state of denial. It was also obvious that if they didn't deal with it soon, the redhead near his wife would do it herself. The hatred in her eyes screamed to the rest of the group that Daryl was not the only Dixon fueled by rage when their family was hurt.

"I'll tell her how it is," he offered after a moment. "Andrea-" Without missing a beat, she pulled out her gun and aimed it at Rick, who froze with his hands up in the air.

"I know how the safety works," she stated coldly.

"All right," Rick said as he got to his feet and backed away. "Okay. I'm sorry."

As soon as he was far enough, Andrea put her gun back and turned back to Amy.

"Y'all can't be serious," Daryl scoffed, glaring at the group of clucking hens as he kept a sharp eye on his wife. "Let that girl hamstring us? The dead girl's a time bomb."

"What do you suggest?" Rick asked exasperatedly.

"Take the shot," he proposed, obviously sharing the same viewpoint as his wife in the matter. "Clean, in the brain, from here. Hell, I can hit a turkey between the eyes from this distance."

"No," Lori said angrily. "For God's sake, let her be."

Daryl huffed and walked away to deal with the walker bodies that were still around camp. The group shot their gazes to Airianna as she suddenly stood from her chair next to the fire pit.

"What? I'm going to change Eren into something clean. He's all covered in walker blood and that could get him sick," She rolled her eyes. "Honestly y'all acting like I'm about to snap."

As she was walking to her tent and trying to ignore the watchful gazes she heard Glenn cry out, "We don't burn them! We bury them. Understand?" She paused and watched as he pointed to another row of bodies away from the large bonfire of walker corpses. "Our people go in that row over there." Daryl and Morales exchanged looks before they did as Glenn asked.

"You reap what you sow," Daryl snapped once the body was in place.

"You know what? Shut up, man." Morales sighed.

Daryl ignored Morales' warning. Instead, he pulled off his gloves and threw them to the ground in anger. "Y'all left my brother for dead!" he shouted. "You had this comin'!" Daryl shot the rest of the camp dirty looks before heading towards Airianna and sighed, "How ya doin' sunshine?"

"Besides wanting to put bullets in Amy and Andrea's heads, fine." Daryl looked at her and pulled her into a hug. He pulled away when he felt his son moving between them.

"Dada, dada, dada." It seemed to be the only word he wanted to say at the moment, but it made them both so proud and happy.

"A walker bit him!" Jacqui screamed while stumbling away from Jim. "A walker bit Jim!" Everyone's heads shot towards the man in question when she cried out. Rick, Shane, and Daryl jumped into action and swiftly surrounded the accused man. Airianna stepped back as the rest of the camp watched on worriedly.

"I'm okay," he tried to assure them. "I'm okay."

Daryl stalked around Jim while the other two hung back. "Show it to us," he demanded. "Show it to us!" Jim shivered and grabbed a shovel, swinging it around to keep the other men at a distance. T-Dog ran up behind Jim and grabbed him and Daryl lifted his shirt while taking the shovel from him. Underneath his shirt was a clear bite mark on his left rib cage. T-Dog and Daryl then moved away from Jim, who stumbled in place from the manhandling.

"I'm okay!" Jim chanted as if saying it would make the fatal mark disappear from his body. Jim shamefully shuffled back against a box by the RV and slumped down, exhausted from the spectacle.

"I say we put a pickaxe in his head, and the dead girl's, and be done with it," Daryl suggested.

"Is that what you'd want," Shane asked. "If it were you?"

"Yeah, and I'd thank you while you did it."

"I hate to say it," Dale said. "I never thought I would...but maybe Daryl's right."

"Jim's not a monster, Dale," Rick argued. "Or some rabid dog."

"I'm not suggesting-" he tried, but Rick cut him off.

"He's a sick, sick man. We start down that road, where do we draw the line?" he asked.

"The line's pretty clear," Daryl spat. "Zero tolerance for walkers, or them to be."

"What if we can get him help?" Rick almost pleaded. "I heard the CDC was workin' on a cure."

"I heard that too," Shane said. "Heard a lot of things before the world went to Hell."

"What if the CDC was still up and runnin''?"

"Man, that's a stretch right there."

"Why? If there's any government left, any structure at all, they'd protect the CDC at all costs, wouldn't they?" When no one answered he continued. "It's our best shot. Shelter, protection-"

"Okay, Rick, you want all those things all right?" Shane tried to reason with him. "I do too, okay? Now, if they exist, they'd be at the army base, Fort Benning. It's away from the hot zone. It'll be heavily armed. Now tell me it isn't a good idea."

"The military were on the front lines of this thing," Rick reminded Shane. "They got overrun. We have all seen that. The CDC is our best choice and Jim's only chance."

"You go lookin' for Aspirin, do what you need to do," Daryl said, starting to move towards Jim. "Someone needs to have some balls to take care of this damn problem!"

"Hey!" Rick called after him, but he didn't listen to the sheriff. Before Daryl could lift his pickaxe over his head, Rick pulled his gun on him. "We don't kill the living."

"That's funny, comin' from a man who just put a gun to my head," Daryl muttered shakily.

"We may disagree on somethings, but not on this. Put it down." Shane said as he stood between Daryl and Jim. Daryl angrily dropped the pickaxe and walked away.

Rick walked up to Jim and grabbed him by the arm leading him to the RV. "Come with me."

"Where're you takin' me?" Jim asked.

"Somewhere safe." The camp slowly calmed down as Rick sequestered the ill man into the RV and Airianna sighed as she watched her husband storm away back to their tent.

While Rick was tending to Jim, Morales and the others got back to putting pickaxes through the walker's heads. He was about to take care of Ed Peletier, Carol's husband when Carol walked up to him. "I'll do it," she offered. "He's my husband."

Morales handed her the pickax and watched as she repeatedly swung it, letting all of her anger out on her husband's body, just as he did to her. She sobbed as she passed the tool back to Morales and walked back towards Lori. Lori hugged her friend and scanned her eyes around the camp as she let the grieving woman cry in her arms. The men continued to clean up the main mess of the attack, some of the women attempted to pick up and sort supplies that had been scattered during the attack, the children sat by the tents with coloring books pretending like nothing was off, and Andrea...She remained next to her sister's body, practically catatonic. The brunette's eyes were drawn to movement by the tents and she watched as the female doctor stepped out of her and the redneck's tent carrying her newly dressed son. The women's eyes met and they passed tensed looks between each other.

Airianna scoffed at the annoyed looks she was getting from the other mother, she of all people should understand the importance of protecting a child. Before she could walk over and speak to Lori about the obvious conflict she felt, A loud growl shook her to the core.

She snapped her neck to the left and noticed the shuffling of Amy's limbs as Andrea sat over her. The dead sister's eyes slowly opened and the feeling around the camp worsened. Andrea held her sister's body down as she whispered to her. "I'm here now, Amy," Andrea sobbed. "I'm here. I love you."

With that, she took out her handgun and shot Amy in the head, killing her for the last time.

Once they had everyone they lost from the camp carefully wrapped up and stowed away in Daryl's blue and white truck, Daryl and Airianna drove them up to where Shane and Rick were digging graves. From what the others had told her, Jim had already dug some of the graves they needed because of some vivid dream he had, so there wasn't much more that needed to be done. She felt horrible that Jim's predilection had come true. Daryl and Airianna stepped out of the truck with her son wrapped in her arms.

"I still think it's a mistake," Daryl expressed, "Not burnin' these bodies. It's what we said we'd do, right? Burn 'em all? Wasn't that the idea?"

"At first," Shane said.

"Chinaman gets all emotional, says it's not the thing to do, we just follow him along?" Daryl asked. "These people need to know who the hell's in charge here, what the rules are." He winced as his wife harshly kicked his shin.

"There are no rules," Rick pointed out.

"Well, that's the problem," Lori jumped in when she walked up. "We haven't had one minute to hold onto anything of our old selves," Lori continued. "We need time to mourn, and we need to bury our dead. That's what people do."

Airianna stood near Daryl the whole time the long funeral took place. The only one she was sad to be saying goodbye to was Amy. She felt bad about the others, but the only one she had had time to get to know was the poor 19-year-old. She silently wished that it was Andrea that was under that sheet, but you can't go back in time to change things.

Later that night after everyone had come back from the top of the hill, Airianna sat next to Daryl with Eren in her lap as everyone else sat around the campfire with them. Even Andrea had curled up in one of the lawn chairs, although she refused to look at or talk to anyone. Airianna leaned against Daryl while observing the others, trying to get her mind off of the loss everyone had been dealt with that day. She looked up as Rick, Shane, and Dale approached the group, having returned from their circuit of intense conversation.

"I've, uh...I've been thinkin' about Rick's plan," Shane started, gaining everyone's attention.

"Now look, there are no, uh...no guarantees either way," Shane continued. "I'll be the first one to admit that." He looked across the fire at Rick. "I've known this man for a long time. I trust his instincts." He glanced around at the others. "I say the most important thing here is we need to stick together. So, those of you that agree, we leave first thing in the mornin'. Okay?"

No one said anything, but they all seemed to understand. This little oasis that they'd found was no longer safe, and they had to move before another group of walkers stumbled upon them.

The next morning, everyone gathered around the line of cars. Airianna stood with Dale and Daryl on the far side of the group, Eren was once again in his carrier jacket and he seemed grumpy today. She figured it was due to the restraint he was stuck in once again.

"Everyone, listen up," Shane called out as they got ready to head out. "Those of you with CBs, we're gonna be on Channel 40. Let's keep the chatter down, okay? Now, you got a problem-don't have a CB, can't get a signal-anything at all, you're gonna hit your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan. Any questions?"

Morales stepped forward almost hesitantly. " We're, uh..we're not going," he informed everyone, much to their surprise.

"We have family in Birmingham," his wife explained. "We want to be with our people."

"You go on your own, you won't have anyone to watch your back," Shane told him, trying to talk them out of leaving. He didn't want them to go off and end up getting hurt. After all, they had two kids. Morales might be tough, but his wife sure wasn't. He would be doing all of the heavy lifting if they ran into any trouble, and it would be easy for them to be overrun.

"We'll take the chance," Morales said. "I gotta do what's best for my family."

"You sure?" Rick asked, thinking along the same lines as Shane.

"We talked about it. We're sure."

Rick nodded. "All right. Shane?" he asked, motioning to his duffle bag at their feet. Shane nodded in agreement, and Rick got down and looked through his collection of guns. ".357?" he posed as he pulled a small gun from the bag along with a box of ammo.

"Yeah," Shane nodded. He took the box from Rick, and the two of them approached Morales, each of them presenting their gifts. "Box is half full." Morales took the gun and ammunition gratefully.

Daryl scoffed as he started to pace next to his wife, who reached out and elbowed him in the ribs once he was within range. He placed his hand over the spot where she'd hit him, even though she hadn't hit him hard enough to hurt, and glared at her. She looked back with a small smile on her face. He just scoffed again but smiled as well. Lori jumped down from her perch on the hood of one of the vans and walked over to Morales' family.

"Thank you all for everything," Morales' wife said tearfully. Lori didn't say anything as she just took the woman into her arms, allowing her to cry into her shoulder.

Morales held his hand out to Shane, who shook it. "Good luck, man," Shane said.

"Appreciate it," Morales replied.

"Channel 40 then if you change your minds," Rick reminded Morales. "All right?"

"Yeah," Morales nodded.

With that, he and his family loaded into one of the Jeeps. Airianna watched as Daryl turned to watch them as they went. She knew that Daryl wanted to say goodbye, but she also knew that he wouldn't do it. He only let his family see how much of a big softie he could be.

"What makes you think our odds are any better?" Shane muttered to Rick, who looked at him in an exasperated way. "Come on, let's go!" he called out to the others. "Let's move out."

Rick broke away from Shane as he approached the van that his wife and son had gone into, along with Carol and Sophia. He paused when he realized that Airianna hadn't moved to join them. He turned to look over at her to see that she was following Daryl to his truck. "You ridin' with Daryl?"

"Yea, Eren likes sitting in his daddy's lap when we're all driving. I also enjoy watching Daryl get embarrassed over it." Daryl quickly turned around and started to push her to the truck so she would quiet down. Rick chuckled at the scene then jumped in the car with his family.

Airianna looked over to Daryl as he was driving and smiled at how relaxed he seemed. Just as she predicted, Eren had crawled his way over to his father's lap and was currently asleep. She saw that even though Daryl was blushing, he was smiling and glancing down at his son every so often. He looked over to her to see her smile and reached his right arm out to pull her into a hug. She snuggled up into his side and relaxed and waited until they stopped.

They'd only gone a little over three miles when they had to pull over.

Most of the group had gathered outside of the RV, watching smoke pour out from under the hood. "I told you we'd never get far on that hose," Dale told Rick as he tried to wave away some of the smoke with his hat. "I said I needed the one from the cube van."

"Can you jury-rig it?" Rick asked.

"That's all it's been so far. It's more duct tape than hose. And I'm out of duct tape."

"I see somethin' up ahead," Shane called as he scouted the area with a pair of binoculars. "Gas station if we're lucky."

Jacqui suddenly came running out of the RV, looking worried. "Y'all! Jim-it's bad," she said. "I don't think he can take anymore." Airianna handed Eren to Daryl and then entered the RV to check on him. Daryl and Rick followed, but only Rick went inside. Daryl knew that Airi would kill him if he brought their son into a room with a sick person, so he waited by the door with Eren. Airianna heard Shane and T-Dog talking about going somewhere, but she and Rick continued to check up on Jim. She entered the bedroom in the back of the RV and frowned at the stench of death that filled the whole area. Jim himself was drenched in sweat and shaking from the cold chills the fever was running through his body. She sat on the edge of the bed and took his pulse from his wrist and then continued to check his other vitals the best she could without tools.

"We'll be back on the road soon," Rick said, trying to calm Jim.

"Oh, no," Jim groaned. "Christ. My bones...my bones are like glass. Every little bump-God. This ride's killing me." He paused to look out the window next to the bed. "Leave me here. I'm done," Jim said hoarsely. "Just leave me. I want to be with my family."

Rick knelt closer to Jim. "They're all dead," he reminded Jim. "I don't think you know what you're askin'. The fever-you've been delirious more times than not."

"I know. Don't you think I know?" Jim struggled to sit up more, crying out in pain as he did. "I'm clear now, in five minutes, I may not be. Rick, Airianna-I know what I'm asking. Leave me here. Now, that's on me. Okay? My decision. Not your failure."

"All right," Airianna breathed out. She grabbed Rick's shoulder and dragged him out before he would do something he later regretted.

"Airianna and I think we should leave Jim here," Rick told them. "It's what he says he wants."

"And he's lucid?" Carol wondered.

"Seems to be," Airianna said.

"Back in the camp, when I said that Daryl might be right and you shot me down, you misunderstood me," Dale spoke up. "I would never go along with callously killing a man. I was just gonna suggest that we ask Jim what he wants. And I think we have an answer."

"We just leave him here?" Shane asked. "We take off? Man, I'm not sure I can live with that."

"You don't have to," Lori replied. "It's Jim's decision to make, not yours."

Shane sighed while running his fingers through his hair. "All right," he relented after a moment. "Fine. Come on," he said, motioning for Rick to follow him as he entered the RV. As the two came back out with Jim in their arms, everyone followed behind them as they walked up a hill and gently placed Jim underneath a big tree.

"Hey, another damn tree," Jim joked with a smile.

"Hey, Jim," Shane said. "I mean, you know it doesn't need to be like this."

"No, it's good. The breeze feels nice."

Shane's head dropped in despair. "Okay," he muttered. "All right." He reached out and placed his hand on Jim's knee before backing up and leaving.

Jacqui walked up and grabbed Jim's hand. "Just close your eyes, sweetie," she said. "Don't fight." Jim did as she said, and she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

Rick stepped up with a gun and asked if Jim wanted it, but he just shook his head and said that they would need it more than him. Dale then walked up and had a quiet conversation with his friend. After Dale, everyone else nodded their head or said goodbye, and headed back to their cars.

Airianna and Daryl; however, didn't move.

Airianna walked up to him and said, "I'm sorry this happened to you." Jim smiled and shook his head.

"Better me than your boy." Airianna's eyes widened at his words. Daryl walked up to wrap his arms around his wife, who seemed to be deep in thought.

"Thanks, for watchin' over them." Daryl gruffly said.

"No problem, you have a good family. Don't let them out of your sight." Daryl turned around with Airianna in tow.

Before he was out of Jim's hearing range he lightly whispered, "I won't."

They walked back to the caravan and hopped into the trunk once more. Daryl started it up with the rest of the cars and continued down the road. Airianna held her son in her lap while leaning against her husband once more. Daryl looked at them and he hoped that he wasn't going to lose either one of them anytime soon.

The convoy didn't stop until they finally maneuvered their way through the city and reached the CDC. As they got out, the smell of decay caused many in the group to gag as they tried to quietly move through the mess on the streets to the doors of the building. "All right, everybody keep movin'," Shane urged. "Go on stay quiet."

Airianna followed the others through the scene slowly. She was next to Carol and Sophia while Daryl and Glenn made up the back of the group. It seemed like an hour had passed before they reached the doors to the CDC. Shutters were covering every window and door to the building, which worked for a good defense to keep the walkers out but it was not good for the group who needed to get in.

"There's nobody here," T- Dog sighed.

"Then why are the shutters down?" Rick threw back. Daryl glanced behind his shoulder and caught walker in a military uniform making its way towards them.

"Walker!" Daryl quickly shot the shambling corpse, then turned to Rick. "You lead us into a graveyard!" he shouted as he stalked towards him.

"He made a call," Shane defended Rick as he stepped between him and Daryl.

"It was the wrong damn call!"

Airianna quickly walked to the front of the group. "Daryl, stop it," she said as she tugged on his arm. When he didn't react, she pulled harder, making him move back. "Stop it!" she said more forcefully. Daryl turned to glare at her, but when he saw the fear in her eyes, he stopped. Daryl nodded to her and she released him from her death grip. Daryl scoffed at Rick, and turned away, shifting his attention back to the graveyard behind the ragtag group.

"Rick, this is a dead-end," Airianna heard Shane say.

"Where are we gonna go?" Carol asked fearfully from beside her.

"Do you hear me?" Shane continued. "No blame."

"Shane's right," Lori jumped in. "We can't be here this close to the city after dark."

"Fort Benning Rick, still an option," Shane said.

"On what?" Andrea scoffed. "No food, no fuel. That's one hundred miles."

"One hundred twenty-five," Glenn corrected her. "I checked the map."

"Forget Fort Benning," Lori snapped. "We need answers tonight, now."

"We'll think of sumthin'," Rick assured her, still not ready to let the idea of this place go.

"Come on, let's go," Shane said. "Let's go, please."

"Come on," Daryl said, motioning for Airianna to follow him.

"All right, everybody back to the cars," Shane continued. "Let's go, move." He glanced back over his shoulder to see that Rick still hadn't moved.

Rick looked up at something before he jumped back. "The camera!" Rick shouted. "It moved!"

"You imagined it," Dale said, not believing him.

"It moved," Rick said forcefully. "It moved."

"Rick, it's dead, man," Shane tried to convince him. "It's an automated device. It's the gears, okay? They're just windin' down. Now, come on."

"No-"

"Man, just listen to me," he pleaded. "look around this place. It's dead. You need to let it go, Rick!"

"Rick, there's nobody there!" Lori shouted.

"I know you're in there," Rick spoke to the camera. "I know you can hear me."

"Everybody get back to the cars, now!" Shane cried over Rick's voice.

"Please! We're desperate! Please, help us," Rick begged the camera. "We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left."

Lori pushed Carl over to Airianna and rushed over to her husband. "Rick, there's nobody there."

"We have nowhere else to go."

"Keep your eyes open," Shane warned the others.

Airianna looked away from Rick's pleading to see that walkers were making their way over to them. All of their yelling had drawn a small swarm of them into the vicinity. Daryl pushed her, Eren, and Carl farther behind him to protect them.

"If you don't let us in, you're killing us!" Rick shouted almost hysterically. "Please!"

"Come on, buddy," Shane said as he grabbed Rick and tried to drag him away. "Let's go. Let's go!"

"Please, help us!" Rick continued to yell. "You're killing us! You're killing us! You're killing us!" Airianna jumped around at the sea of light that flooded out from behind them. The light was almost blinding, but it proved something that most in the group didn't believe.

Someone survived in there after all.


	9. Chapter 9

Everyone gazed at the bright light coming from the now open doors of the CDC. The beam of hope sent all of the group into a small daze, but the quick descent into darkness when the floodlights turned off they all started carefully into the building while keeping an eye on the prowling corpses inching closer.

"Daryl, you cover the back," Shane instructed.

"Hello?" Rick called into the deathly quiet building, "Hello?"

"Hello?" Shane called.

A gun cocked in the room, and Airianna's head shot towards the sound while her heart rate shot up. She calmed when she met eyes with a middle-aged man standing near an elevator. He looked to be in his early to mid-fifties, if not late-forties. He had short blonde hair and blue-grey eyes which warily watched the newcomers. He looked well-groomed, definitely compared to her and the others.

"Anybody infected?" The man shouted at them.

"One of our group was," Rick answered. "He didn't make it."

The man carefully stepped closer to them, "You all submit to a blood test-that's the price of admission."

"We can do that," Rick assured him.

He lowered his gun, "You got stuff to bring in, you do it now. Once this door closes, it stays closed." Without a word, the men ran back out to grab all of the bags that they had dropped in the earlier scuffle. The female doctor let the mysterious man's words mull over in her mind, but some parts of it didn't sit well with her. She felt eyes boring into her and once more caught the gaze of the man. "How old is your kid?"

"He's sixteen months old."

The man nodded and then walked over to a keypad and typed in some code that sealed the shutters back down. "VI, seal the main entrance," He muttered into an intercom next to the code pad. "Kill the power up here."

Rick stepped towards the man with his hand out. "Rick Grimes."

The man looked at his hand and then took it. "Dr. Edwin Jenner."

They all were squeezed into the elevator like sardines in a can and Airianna tucked herself in the back next to Daryl. She bounced her son on her hip as the lift slowly went lower into the facility, keeping her guard up but smiling at the happy looks on both Carl and Sophia's faces.

"Doctors always go around packin' heat like that?" Daryl questioned.

"Oh, there was plenty left lying around," Jenner replied. "I familiarized myself." He glanced around the group. "But you look harmless enough," He nodded down to Carl. "Except you. I'll have to keep my eye on you."

Carl smirked slightly and glanced up at everybody with an almost prideful look in his eye. Once the elevator stopped, they all stepped into a hallway and followed Jenner. While the hall was brightly lit its gray walls did little to subtract from the confining air that lingered around the small group of survivors as they passed door after door.

"Are we underground?" Carol asked.

"Are you claustrophobic?" Jenner returned.

"A little."

"Try not to think about it."

They followed the male doctor into an empty control room that was filled with computers, switchboards, and three large screens overhead the main electronic area. "VI, bring up the lights in the big room," Jenner called into the empty room. On command, the lights all turned on. He turned back to the group of survivors following him. "Welcome to Zone Five."

"Where is everybody?" Rick asked as he and the others followed Jenner around the room. "The other doctors? The other staff?"

"I'm it. It's just me here."

"What about the person you were speaking with?" Lori asked. "VI?"

"VI," Jenner called into the room once more. "Say hello to our guests. Tell them...welcome."

"Hello, guests," a computerized female voice said. "Welcome."

"I'm all that's left. I'm sorry."

The air of hope within the group slightly deflated at the sound of the robotic tones, but Rick simply nodded his head before continuing to follow the stoic man further into the depths of the building. Daryl noticed Airianna's furrowed brow and placed his hand onto his wife's back, pushing her into following the group. They quickly ended up outside of a room with frosted glass set in the door, lightly revealing some sort of conference room. They all piled into the room and waited as Dr. Jenner swiftly left and returned with a rolling cart full of empty vials, hypodermic needles, medical tape, and gauze pads. The members of the group each silently waited while Jenner took samples of each person's blood individually. When the man motioned for the small child Daryl gently held his son while the small vial of blood was drawn. When he was finished the toddler whined and whimpered as his father quickly passed him into his mother's arm. She rocked her son back and forth slightly humming as she watched Jenner collect the last person's blood, Andrea's.

"What's the point? If we were infected, we'd all be running a fever," The blonde flinched as Jenner stuck the needle into her arm.

"I've already broken every rule letting you in here," He stated. "Let me just at least be thorough." After a moment, he pulled the needle back out and placed the last square of gauze on her arm. "All done." Andrea stood up slowly and took a few steps before she had to stop. Jacqui rushed forward to help stop her swaying.

"You okay?" Jenner asked worriedly.

"She hasn't eaten in days," Jacqui explained. "None of us have."

The male doctor blinked before nodding his head at the obvious answer, naturally swaying could easily indicate a level of starvation. He packed up the now labeled blood samples and motioned for the fourteen people to follow him once more. They obliged and walked once more through the maze of halls until they reached a break room equipped with a full kitchen. The man gestured to the room before he carried the samples away for his testing. While he exited the room, Carol, Lori, and Jacqui quickly made their way into the large area, looking through the cupboards and beaming at the stockpile of food overflowing from the cabinets. As they were unloading items to prepare food T-Dog did his own snooping and yelled out when he opened a dresser in the side of the room and was greeted with a healthy pile of alcohol. Soon the smell of pasta and tomato sauce filled the air as the rest of the group assembled the tables all together to form a makeshift dining area and set the table with clean plates and large helpings of wine.

Many took their places at the table once the food finished cooking, but Airianna sat on one of the counters with a small glass of wine in her hand as she casually watched her husband rifle through the stash of liquors until he found what he was searching for. Eren sat next to her in a highchair that Jenner had somehow procured for him, playing with his small plate spaghetti. She giggled as he slammed his little fists on the tray, throwing his food all over him as he was eating it. Daryl walked up and chuckled at the strings of pasta draped over his son's face as he continued to shove clumps of saucy spaghetti into his tiny mouth.

"You know," Dale said from the table as he was pouring a glass of wine. "In Italy, children have a little bit of wine with dinner. And in France."

"Well, when Carl's in Italy or France, he can have some then," Lori said as she placed her hand over Carl's cup to keep Dale from pouring him any.

"What's it gonna hurt?" Rick said. "Come on."

Lori stared at Rick, then gave in and moved her hand away.

"Here you are, young lad," Dale said. Everyone watched as Carl took a sip.

"Ew!" he cried as everyone else started laughing.

Lori patted his back while pouring his cup into her's, "That's my boy."

"Just stick to soda pop there, bud," Shane said.

"Not you, Glenn," Daryl spoke from beside Airianna.

Glenn glanced up from his food in confusion. "What?"

"Keep drinkin', little man," He declared. "I wanna see how red your face can get."

Rick then stood up and raised his glass, "It seems to me that we haven't thanked our host properly."

"He's more than just our host," T-Dog added.

"Here's to you, Doc," Daryl said as he raised his bottle. "Booyah!"

"Booyah!" the others joined in while Airianna shook her head and grabbed a napkin to clean Eren's messy face.

She relaxed at the sounds of mirth surrounding her, but the good mood was quickly killed by Shane's next sentence.

"So, when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, Doc?" He asked. "All the, uh...the other doctors that were supposed to be figurin' out what happened-where are they?"

"We're celebrating, Shane," Rick reminded him. "We don't need to do this now."

"Whoa, wait a second," Shane argued. "This is why we're here, right? This was your move. We were supposed to find all the answers. Instead, we found him," He observed, pointing over to Jenner. "Found one man. Why?"

"Well, when things got bad, a lot of people just...left, went off to be with their families," The outsider began. "And, when things got worse-when the military cordon got overrun-the rest just bolted."

"Every last one?"

"No. Many couldn't face walking out the door. They...opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time." A hush fell over the dinner guests as they each took in the weight of his words.

"You didn't leave," Andrea pointed out. "Why?"

"I just kept working, hoping to do some good."

Everyone was quiet once more. Then Glenn jumped off of the counter he was sitting on, glaring at the cocky cop, "Dude, you are such a buzzkill, man," he muttered to Shane as he took an empty seat at the table.

With the party successfully ruined everyone finished their meals in tense silence with a few small words passed around. Once everyone had eaten their fill, the scientist led them towards the living areas.

"Most of the facility is powered down, including housing, so you'll have to make do here," Jenner explained as they moved through the halls. "The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you like. There's a rec room at the end of the hall that you kids might enjoy," He turned and knelt to Sophia and Carl's eye level. "Just don't plug in the video games, okay? Or anything that draws power." The kids nodded, and he straightened up to talk to the others. "The same applies-if you shower, go easy on the hot water."

With that, he walked away, leaving them by themselves.

Glenn turned towards the others. "Hot water?" he repeated with a big smile.

"That's what the man said," T-Dog laughed in delight.

They all dispersed with the family groups claiming rooms together and the rest picking roommates, Daryl carried the bags he brought from the truck into one of the closed-off rooms and motioned for Airianna to follow. She closed the door behind her and took in the sight of the small room. The walls were a dull drown and generic art was strewn on the walls, but she smiled at the nest of couch cushions her husband was already putting together along with all of the blankets he could get his hands on. When the makeshift bed was finished he turned and shrugged his shoulders at the smirk covering his wife's face.

"Too damn lazy to drag a bed in," He reasoned. "This just easier."

"Well," She slipped off her shoes and moved Eren to her other hip so she could take off her backpack. "I think it's a great idea. Like the pillow forts we used to make in our living room."

"Now you're gettin' it," Daryl smiled and leaned forward to grab the backpack. "Just Don't ask to watch no chick flick. I don't need you crying all night."

The mother scoffed, "Oh please, we both know you were the one crying at the end of all of those movies, especially Pride and Prejudice."

"You better be takin' that to your damn grave, Airi."

She giggled at his fake serious tone, "Yeah yeah, I'm going to ask around for a bathtub to wash this little monster." The hunter nodded his agreement as he eyed his son's face which was now smudged with dirt and dinner. He tossed two big towels at his wife and she skillfully caught them with her free hand before exiting the small room in search of the bathroom.

Airianna didn't have long to search before she found the bathroom, but was annoyed when she learned from Glenn there was only a shower there. She instead traversed her way back to the computer room in search of the other doctor. She paused when she noticed the information on the overhead screens, but before she could read the unknown test results the monitor quickly turned off. She turned her head to the raised computer area and met eyes with Dr. Jenner.

"Sorry to bother you," She politely muttered. "But is there a bathtub I could use to wash Eren?" The man silently nodded and rushed to grab all of the files he was previously looking at before the redhead's arrival. He tilted his head towards another doorway on the other side of the vast room and the mother and son followed him until he stopped outside of a plain white door.

"The only bathroom with a tub on this floor," He stated. "My room's right down the hall if you require anything else." She nodded her head in silent thanks and waited until the strange man had entered his room and locked the door behind him before she went inside to clean her now fussy child.

Thirty minutes later Airianna was carrying Eren back from his warm bath, smiling at the sleepy look he had on his face until she accidentally bumped into another person in the hallway. She turned to apologize but frowned when she noticed the fresh tears streaming down Lori's face.

"Honey, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Lori looked up in shock as if she hadn't noticed that there was someone else in the hall.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm fine," Lori insisted. "Please don't tell anybody about this."

"All right. You have a good night." Airianna mumbled as she watched her slowly walk off. She wondered what had happened, but then she saw someone else leave the door Jenner had pointed out as the rec room.

Shane.

That bastard. She knew she couldn't deal with him now, so she decided to talk to Lori about it in the morning. She shook her head as the man drunkenly stumbled down the hall, but ignored his struggle as she continued to her room. As she opened the door she was greeted to the sight of Daryl toweling off his hair wearing only his pants.

"Well, I have no complaints about this picture," Daryl turned towards his wife's voice.

"Please we both know that you look better with no shirt," Airi smirked as she laid her sleeping son into a makeshift crib Daryl had whipped together while she was bathing Eren. After she knew he was fully asleep she wandered over to her husband.

She whispered in his ear as she hugged him, " Perhaps we should test your theory?"

Daryl growled at his wife and leaned in to kiss her passionately.

Brown eyes snapped open at the sound of crying and Daryl's soothing whispers.

"Shh, shh, come on Eren. Mommy's tryin' ta sleep. Ya gotta be quiet for her."

Airianna rolled off the couch cushions and onto the floor. She opened her eyes to see a blanket wrapped around her naked body and a baby wielding Daryl staring down at her.

"Morning."

"Why ya on the floor, sunshine?" Daryl asked while trying not to laugh.

"No reason. Let's get dressed and grab Eren something to eat." She got up and threw on a black tank top and jeans. She then grabbed Eren from Daryl's arms and changed him from his night onesie into a small striped t-shirt and small brown shorts. As she was velcroing his tiny sneaker she glanced at Daryl and rolled her eyes when he slipped his trusty crossbow over his now clean leather vest. The redneck simply shrugged at his wife's rolling eyes and kissed her cheek. The small family then made their way from their room and back into the kitchen from the night before.

"Good morning," Dale greeted cheerfully as soon as the three of them walked through the doorway.

"Morning, is Glenn okay?" Airianna asked while she stared at the boy who was laying in his food.

"He's fine. Just drank a little too much."

She laughed softly, "I guess Daryl's a little too good at talking people into things." As she passed by the table to get to a seat, she glanced over at Lori who was sitting next to her son. "How did you sleep?" she asked the other mother.

Lori looked up at Airianna and gave a slightly forced smile. "Fine," She assured. "Thank you."

She gave the brunette a look of displeasure, but walked to a seat and sat down. Jacqui came over and gave her a plate with some bacon and eggs. She let Eren eat the eggs as she ate the bacon slowly.

"Hey," Airianna looked up as Shane entered the room. He walked past her to get coffee and she hoped he could feel her burning holes in his head with her eyes.

"Hey," Rick replied. "Feel as bad as I do?"

Shane scoffed, "Worse."

"The hell happened to you?" T-Dog asked as he pointed to Shane's neck. "Your neck."

"Yeah, what did happen to your neck?" Airianna asked with a hint of mockery in her voice.

Shane shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I, uh...must've done it in my sleep." he answered lamely.

"Never seen you do that before," Rick said.

"Me neither," he muttered. He looked up across the table at Lori. "Not like me at all."

Before anything else could be said Jenner waltzed on into the kitchen to get some food.

"Morning," He called out to the people sitting at the table.

"Doc, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing..." Dale started.

"But you will anyway," Jenner muttered.

"We didn't come here for the eggs," Andrea stated frankly.

There was an uncomfortable silence before he stood up from the seat he was in and started walking out. "Follow me," Jenner led everyone back into the control room, to the front row of computers. He started typing away at one of the keyboards. "Give me a playback of TS-19," He said, most likely talking to VI.

"Few people ever got a chance to see this," Jenner explained. "Very few."

Everyone watched as an MRI showed up on the screen. It was of an unknown person and it was mainly focused near their brain.

"Is that a brain?" Carl asked.

"An extraordinary one," He lightly replied. "Not that it matters in the end." He turned back to look up at the screen. "Take us in for an EIV."

"Enhanced Internal View," VI stated. The video zoomed into the person's brain until it showed little lights moving from one area to the next.

"What are those lights?" Shane wondered.

"It's a person's life," Jenner answered. "Experiences, memories...It's everything." He nodded up at the screen. "Somewhere, in that organic wiring, all the ripples of light is you- the thing that makes you unique, and human."

"You don't make sense?" Daryl asked. "Ever?"

Airianna smiled at his confusion. Though he loved listening to her talk about her job, it made zero sense to him unless she explained it thoroughly. "They're synapses," She said as she turned her eyes back to the screen. "Electric impulses in the brain that carry messages throughout the body. They pretty much determine who and what you are."

Jenner nodded. "That's right. Synapses determine everything a person says, does, or thinks from the moment of birth to the moment of death."

"Death?" Rick echoed. "That's what this is? A vigil?"

"Yes..Or rather a playback of the vigil."

"This person died?" Andrea asked. "Who?"

"Test Subject 19. Someone who was bitten and infected...and volunteered to have us record the process." He turned his attention back to the screen. "VI, scan forward to the first event."

"Scanning to the first event."

The group watched the video as something dark and red started to invade the brain. "What is that?" Glenn asked.

"It invades the brain like meningitis," Jenner explained, not quite answering Glenn's question. "The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown, then the major organs..." He paused as TS-19 shifted erratically before becoming still, and their brain went completely dark. "Then death." He looked down. "everything you ever were or ever will be...gone."

"Is that what happened to Jim?" Sophia wondered.

"Yes," Carol said honestly.

Jenner looked over to Andrea who seemed to be rather upset. "She lost somebody two days ago," Lori said. "Her sister."

"I lost somebody too," he said soothingly. "I know how devastating it is." He gave a sad smile before turning back to the screen. "Scan to the second event."

"Scanning to the second event."

"The resurrection times vary wildly," He explained as the video scanned forward. "We had reports of it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard of was eight hours. In the case of this patient, it was two hours, one minute, seven seconds."

Everyone watched as the dark brain started to slowly turn red at the bottom and the test subject started to slowly start moving around. "It restarts the brain?" Lori said in surprise.

"No, just the brain stem," Jenner argued. "Basically, it gets them up and moving."

"But they're not alive?" Rick asked.

"You tell me."

"It's nothin' like before. Most of that brain is dark."

He nodded. "Dark, lifeless, dead...The frontal lobe, the neocortex, the human part-that doesn't come back; the you part. Just a shell driven by mindless instinct." What appeared to be a gun appeared on the screen, and a line of light shot through the subject's brain, destroying the brain stem.

"God!" Carol cried. "What was that?"

"He shot his patient in the head," Andrea breathed. "Didn't you?"

Jenner turned away from them. "VI, power down the main screen and the workstations."

Andrea turned back to Jenner. "You have no idea what it is, do you?" she almost scoffed.

"It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal."

"Or the wrath of God?" Jacqui added.

The scientist laughed, "There is that."

"Somebody must know something," Andrea tried. "Somebody, somewhere."

"There are others, right?" Carol asked hopefully. "Other facilities?"

"There may be some," Jenner answered. "People like me."

"But you don't know?" Rick asked. "How can you not know?"

"Everything went down. Communication, directives-all of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month."

"So it's not just here," Andrea said. "There's nothing left anywhere? Nothing? That's what you're saying, right?" Jenner chose not to say anything. "Jesus..."

"Man, I'm gonna get shit-faced drunk, again," Daryl muttered as he ran his hands over his face.

"No, you're not," Airianna said while glancing over at him.

"Dr. Jenner, I know this has been taxing for you, and I hate to ask one more question, but..." Dale walked forward until he was standing near Daryl and pointed to the wall. "That clock-it's counting down," He pointed out. "What happens at zero?"

Jenner seemed to hesitate. "The...basement generators-they run out of fuel," he said quickly.

"And then?" Rick asked again.

Once again the doctor didn't answer, instead, he walked away.

"VI, what happens when the power runs out?"

"When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur," VI answered.

At the computerized answer, Daryl started to drag Airianna back to their room. When he got there he started packing up all of their stuff into the bags they brought. "Daryl, what are you doing?" Airianna watched as he made sure everything that they brought was packed up.

"I have a bad feelin' about that clock. I'm packin' us up in case we need ta leave."

She frowned but nodded as he finished up by putting the bags by the door. She knew he was just being cautious in case his gut was right, but she grimaced as she knew his gut was almost always right. Daryl caught the grimace growing on Airi's face and pulled her down to the floor to sit between his legs. He carefully pulled his son from her loose arms and placed him on the floor to let him crawl around.

"He's a cute kid. Don't ya think?" Daryl asked while smiling at his son.

"Yep."

They watched as their son crawled up to them and started to stare at them, "Mama, up! Mama, dada up!" He cried out while having his hands lifted in the air.

Airianna smiled and picked her son up when all of a sudden a commotion broke out in the hall. Daryl quickly snagged his stuff and went outside, motioning for his wife and child to follow. Airianna pulled her bag on her shoulders and clipped Eren back into the jacket, then she followed everyone back out into the main area. When she entered red lights were flashing and a loud alarm was going off.

"Thirty minutes to decontamination," VI announced as the timer popped up on the main screen.

"Doc, what's going on here?" T-Dog yelled, but he got no reply.

"Everybody, y'all heard Rick!" Shane shouted over the sirens. "Get your stuff and let's go! Go!"

Everyone started to move towards the doors, but they were suddenly sealed shut. "No," Glenn breathed. "Did you just lock us in?" He looked up at where Rick was with a terrified look in his eyes. "He just locked us in!"

"You son of a bitch!" Daryl shouted as he ran towards Jenner. Shane pulled him back before he could bring harm to the doctor. "You locked us in here!" he continued to yell as he struggled.

Rick hurried over to the doctor. "Jenner, open that door now."

"There's no point," The doctor glumly argued. "Everything topside is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed."

"Well, open the damn things," Daryl snapped.

"That's not something I control. The computers do. I told you once the front door closed, it wouldn't open again. You heard me say that." He looked around at everyone as they exchanged fearful looks. "It's better this way."

"What is?" Rick asked. "What happens in twenty-eight minutes?"

Jenner jumped to his feet as he snapped, "Do you know what this place is?! We protect the public from very nasty stuff! Weaponized smallpox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you don't want getting out! Ever!" He paused before he sat back down. "In the event of some catastrophic power failure," He continued appearing to be calmer, "in a terrorist attack, for example-HITs are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out."

"HITs?"

"VI, explain," Jenner ordered.

"HITs," VI said, " High impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosives consist of a two-stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen at between five thousand degrees and six thousand degrees and is useful when the greatest loss of life and damage to structure is desired."

As VI explained Rick consoled his family, Carol held her daughter while crying, and Daryl pulled Airianna and Eren close to him while she clung to him for dear life.

"It lights the air on fire," Jenner mumbled "No pain. An end to sorrow, grief...regret. Everything."

"Open the damn door!" Daryl screamed while pulling away from his shaking wife.

Shane grabbed an ax and started running towards the door. "Out of my way!" He started hitting the door with the ax. Daryl grabbed another one and went to join him.

"You should've left well enough alone," Jenner muttered. "It would've been so much easier."

"Easier for who?" Lori snapped.

"All of you, You know what's out there-a short, brutal life, and agonizing death. Your sister-what was her name?"

"Amy," Andrea softly replied.

"Amy," Jenner repeated. "You know what this does. You've seen it. Is that really what you want for your wife and son?"

"I don't want this," Rick replied.

"Can't make a dent," Shane muttered, out of breath.

"Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher," Jenner said.

"Well, your head ain't!" Daryl yelled. He ran towards the man with an ax but was stopped by his wife jumping in front of him.

"Daryl, if you kill him we don't get out." She exclaimed while pulling Daryl away as the others continued with the argument. She pulled him close and muttered sweet words in his ear until they heard Rick cry out.

"Shane, no!"

They both turned to see that Shane and Rick were fighting over a shotgun. Rick pulled it out of his hands and knocked him to the ground, "Are you done?" He asked, his face calm but angry at the same time.

"Yeah, I guess we all are," Shane answered.

After Shane got up Rick turned to the scientist, "You're lying, about no hope. If that were true, you'd have bolted with the rest or taken the easy way out. You didn't. You chose the hard path. Why?"

"It doesn't matter."

"It does matter. It always matters You stayed when the others ran. Why?"

"Not because I wanted to," Jenner replied. "I made a promise-to her." He pointed to the main screen. "My wife."

"Test Subject 19 was your wife?" Lori stated more than asked.

"She begged me to keep going as long as I could. How could I say no? She was dying."

Airianna turned to look for Daryl, only to see that he was back to hitting the door with the ax. She walked over to him and was about to tell him to stop when the door opened. He turned around, grabbed her and his bag, and yelled out, "Come on. Let's go!" He ran out and made sure he had his crossbow as well. They were halfway up to the top floor when the others started coming up as well. As soon as they made it to the main foyer, T-Dog tried to get the doors open but cried out in frustration as the metal refused to budge. He yelled that it wasn't working and they instead turned to the large window. When they still couldn't open it with the axes or a gun, Carol stepped towards Rick.

"Rick? I have something that might help."

Shane scoffed. "Carol, I don't think a nail file is gonna do it."

Carol ignored the sexist comment, "Your first morning in camp when I washed your clothes, I found this in one of your pockets," she said as she pulled out the grenade Rick grabbed back in Atlanta.

Rick went to set it and everyone else ducked for cover. Daryl ran over to cover Airianna and Eren. The moment it went off the glass shattered and everyone sprinted outside to the cars. Daryl shoved his wife and child into the truck and jumped into his side. He pulled them down and then laid over them right as the building went up in flames.

When the heat from the blast had lessened they came back up and saw that Dale and Andrea had also made it out and were hopping into the RV. Daryl then started the car and peeled away from the ruins of the CDC following the rest of the cars as they escaped.

Airianna let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, "That went well. What's next?"


	10. Chapter 10

Once they were far enough away from Atlanta, the group started to get ready for their trek to Fort Benning. After the CDC was a bust, everyone decided to try Shane's plan next.

Airianna helped gather food and other supplies while Eren was with Sophia and Carl. Once everything was set up, she headed to the car that Rick and his family plus Sophia and Carol would ride in. Daryl decided to leave his truck behind but was taking Merle's motorcycle. She did want to ride with him, but she also wanted to keep an eye on their son.

She turned her head at the approaching sound of the motorcycle driving up behind her.

"Where're you goin', Airi?" Dary asked.

She glanced back at him. "I'm going to the car with Carol and Sophia."

"Why?"

"Eren will be in there. I kinda need to watch him," she said with a sarcastic look on her face.

"Nah, Carol's got 'im. He'll be fine," He said while patting the back of the motorcycle. Airianna sighed but when the short-haired woman came and gently collected the toddler she hopped onto the back of the bike. She tightly wrapped her arms around his waist as he started the bike and the group was off.

Airianna leaned her head against Daryl's shoulder for most of the ride, letting the warmth from her husband and the wind brushing against her face calm her frazzled nerves. She was just starting to get comfortable when Daryl slowed the motorcycle to a stop.

"Shit," He muttered.

"What's wrong? Oh..." she trailed off as she saw what made him stop the bike and the rest of the convoy. They had come upon a car graveyard, the first they had encountered since she first started traveling with this group. It was much larger than the one she and Rick had stumbled across the first time they met. And this one had a much stronger stench of death to it than the one outside of Atlanta had.

Daryl turned the bike around and drove up to the RV to speak to Dale.

Dale poked his head out of the open window. "See a way through?" He asked.

Both Daryl and Airianna nodded and looked back over their shoulders at the maze of cars. There was a pathway through but exactly how far they would be able to get was the problem. The redhead held on closer to her husband as he maneuvered the bike carefully through the cars. The other cars started to follow them through the graveyard when she heard the familiar sputtering of the RV's engine. They both looked back to see the RV's radiator was smoking again.

"For the love of..." Daryl groaned in annoyance. He turned off the bike as the two of them hopped off.

"I said it," Dale sighed. "Didn't I say it? A thousand times. Dead in the water."

"Problem, Dale?" Shane asked.

"Just a small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope.." He trailed off as he looked around at all of the abandoned cars surrounding them. "Okay, that was dumb."

"If you can't find a radiator hose here..." Shane hinted.

"There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find," Daryl said as he looked through the back of a nearby sedan.

"I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start," T-Dog agreed.

"Maybe some water," Carol said hopefully while passing Eren to his mother.

"Food," Glenn added.

"This is a graveyard," Lori pointed out. Everyone turned to look at her, realizing the same thing. "I don't know how I feel about this," She continued.

"I understand where you are coming from," The doctor spoke up. "But, if we're going to survive, we will have to do stuff like this."

"All right, all right," T-Dog said as he walked back to the RV. "Here we go."

"Come on, y'all," Shane said. "Just look around. Gather what you can."

Airianna pulled Eren up on her hip as she walked off with Carol, Lori, Carl, and Sophia. She headed towards the cars and opened up the trunk of an SUV and started going through it. She pulled out a box full of canned food and medicine bottles. She smiled as she glanced at the labels listing off the medication she was familiar with, mainly antibiotics to stave off infection and multiple containers of pain relievers.

"Carl, stay in my line of sight," Lori said while looking through another car.

"You too, Sophia," Carol added from next to her.

The female Dixon glanced over at the women as they went through a car with clothes inside of it. Carol pulled out a pretty red shirt and looked at it with longing, "Ed never let me wear nice things."

"You should keep it," Airianna said as she gave the woman a small smile. "It would look lovely on you."

Carol sighed. "Don't really have time for nice things anymore." She went to put it back into the car when Airianna grabbed it from her and slipped it into the box of food and medication.

She smirked at Carol's surprised face.

"Just in case," she added while winking. The older woman smiled at her and then walked off towards another car. Airianna continued to look through the cars when Sophia rushed up towards her with Carl in tow.

"Miss Airi, Miss Airi! Look what we found!" she said while holding up a small plastic box. Airianna saw that it was filled to the brim with stuffed animals.

"We thought that Eren may like them since he only has a deer," Carl said while trying to regain his breath. The mother smiled and put her box down on the ground. She hoisted Eren higher on her hip as he started to slip a little and grabbed the box from Sophia.

"Thank you very much. I believe that he will most definitely enjoy these," she smiled at the two children. They looked at each other with accomplished looks on their faces.

They walked back over near their mothers and continued to look through the cars. Airianna put the box full of toys down next to the other box and was about to continue looking when Rick rushed up to her and the others.

"Get under the cars, now," He ordered in a hushed whisper. She quickly slipped under an SUV near the edge of the road with Sophia and Eren. Carl got under the one next to them, while the other adults were a few cars away. Eren started to squirm and cry a bit, so she pulled him close and shushed him. Sophia scooted closer to her and she wrapped her other arm around the scared girl when she heard an eerily familiar sound.

Walkers.

Airianna observed as their feet shuffled by the car. The smell of them was overbearing, and she fought off a gag as the decaying bodies moved past them. She pulled both children closer to her as she prayed that none of the walkers would notice them under the car. She let her breath lose when she noticed that the herd of walkers was thinning out bit by bit. She relaxed slightly when she no longer noticed the sound of the walkers around them. She was about to motion for Sophia to move when a walker fell over onto the road, right next to the mother and her son.

She and Sophia screamed while trying to get out from under the car and away from the walker. They scrambled out from underneath the car, only to see three other walkers heading towards them. Sophia panicked and crawled under the metal rebar on the side of the road before sprinting towards the forest. Airianna glanced between the walkers coming towards her and her son before she pulled Eren close and ran after the twelve-year-old. As she was running a few feet behind Sophia, she could hear the walkers following after them. She could also hear shouting in the distance but pushed it out of her mind as she focused on her grip on her child and her eyes on the one running ahead of her. She quickly caught up to Sophia and grabbed her hand, stalling her hurried movements. Taking a few deep breaths she pulled the girl along away from the danger of the undead. She glanced around and the sound of rushing water to her left drew her to that direction, hoping the walkers would lose their scent in the water.

Suddenly she was grabbed from behind and was about to scream when shushing floated past her ears.

It was Rick.

He motioned for her and Sophia to silently follow him and they both nodded. He led them towards the creek Airianna was heading toward and quickly pushed them to a little area in the creek where the ground above jutted out, forming a little alcove. Airianna pulled both children closer to her as she watched Rick attack and kill one of the three walkers that were chasing after them.

Rick couched down in front of them once the dying sounds of the walker stopped, "There are two more out there. I'll chase them away after I do you need to head back to the highway. Go that way, and keep the sun on your left shoulder. You both should reach it soon enough." Rick quickly said as he was pointing east. Airianna nodded her head and pulled Sophia's hand so she would pay attention.

Rick then shot off, leading the corpses away from the unarmed members of his group.

Not soon after all three of the people hiding heard the moans of the other walkers, but they were getting fainter as they followed Rick away. Airianna quickly pulled herself and Sophia out of the hide-a-way. She grabbed her and began to lead her back towards the highway. They were almost there when they saw another walker blocking the way. The redhead had a knife on her belt, but both of her hands were occupied by the children. She knew that if she let go of Sophia it would cause her to run off like a scared little rabbit. She instead quietly led them another way to avoid the walker as it continued to shamble through the woods.

They had been out in the forest for a while, sneaking through the underbrush. It seemed that every time they were close to the highway, another walker would pop up and make them change their course. Airianna eventually gave up and led them further into the forest since the sun was setting and they needed shelter.

They came across a decaying farmhouse in the middle of the woods. It was a graying two-story building that was surrounded by Cherokee roses. Airianna remembered telling Daryl about them one day when they were little when he asked what her favorite flower was, she recalled his wondrous face at the story she told him all those years ago.

"Come on Sophia. We can stay here tonight," She whispered while heading towards the front door.

"Are...are we going to be safe here?" The little girl whimpered.

"I hope so."

She slowly opened the door and tapped on the wall. She waited and listened to see if there were any walkers in the house. Once she determined that there were none, she ushered Sophia inside. They both walked around the house, checking for any supplies.

"Miss Airi, I found this container of fish. Would we be able to eat them?" Sophia asked while holding up a container of sardines. Airi smiled at her as she looked at the can and the little girl's hopeful face.

"Yes, we can eat them. Good job finding them." Sophia smiled at her praise. She then motioned for the girl to follow her into the kitchen. Once they entered the kitchen Airi took a blanket that she found in one of the bedrooms and laid it in the bottom of one of the cabinets. She pulled Eren off of her hip and laid him gently on the blanket. He mumbled a bit and then curled up into the warmth of the blanket.

"Okay, Sophia you're going to have to sleep in there with Eren," She said while taking another blanket and sitting next to the cabinet. She placed the blanket over her legs and lap to keep herself warm during the night.

"Why?"

"Well, I'm going to keep watch and if anything shows up, all I have to do is close the door to the cabinet. Then both of you will be safe," She explained with a small smile on her face. "And I know that your mom will end me if you are ever hurt."

Sophia giggled at her words and then crawled into the cabinet with Eren. She snuggled with the little boy in the small space, slowly beginning to nod off. Airianna smirked as she watched the two together.

They almost looked like siblings to her.

Airianna cracked open the can of sardines after Sophia was settled in. She handed half of the fish to the blonde girl while she slowly started to eat her share.

"What about Eren?"

"He can't eat the fish, and I didn't see anything soft enough he could nibble on in here," She sighed at the frown forming on the little girl's face. "Don't worry, I'll pick some berries he'll be able to eat in the morning." The young girl nodded her head in agreement and quietly finished her small portion of food. The mother sadly watched the two children as they cuddled up together, both falling asleep after the events of the day. A few minutes later, Airianna could hear the slight snores coming from the pair. She sighed and as she leaned her head back she tried to hold back the tears that were forming in the corners of her eyes. She missed Daryl even though they had just seen each other a few hours ago. She knew that he would be freaking out and probably cursing Rick six ways from Sunday for leaving her and the children to draw off the walkers. But she knew that she had to be strong and not break if she wanted any of them to have a damn chance of surviving. Her breaths evened out and she settled in for a long night.

The next morning as the sun rose over the horizon Airianna woke Sophia and Eren up. While Sophia was watching her son she scavenged the rest of the house and luckily found a backpack, a water bottle, and a few cans of fruit. She packed the meager supplies into the bag and swung it over her shoulder before rejoining the children. Sophia eyed the doctor as she reentered the room, "Can I carry it? I want to be of some help."

"Of course you can carry the bag. I will carry Eren in one of my arms, but you have to promise that you will stay with me. Since I will have to keep my knife in my other hand, so you can't go running off." Sophia nodded her head excitedly and pulled the bag onto her back. "Hey, where did your doll go? Didn't you have it when we ran off the highway?" Airianna asked while looking around the house for the doll.

"I dropped it in the creek when we were hiding. I'm okay with that though."

"Alright, as long as you're sure," Airianna said questionably. The girl shrugged her shoulders but didn't say any more on the matter so the woman dropped it. After she double-checked their supplies and the house she lifted her boy into her arms and motioned for the girl to follow behind her. She carefully followed the way they had taken yesterday by tracking and slowly made their way back to the creek bed. When they had gotten there she realized that there were many other footprints throughout the creek bed, and sadly she couldn't tell whether they were human or walker prints due to the vast amount of them.

"Are a lot of footprints good?" The brown-eyed woman turned her gaze at the little girl's questioning tone.

She nodded towards the prints in question, "They may be from our group. That means they're looking for us." Sophia smiled at the prints and nodded her head with a cute, but tough look on her face.

"They go that way, right?" The blonde girl said while pointing south down the bank of the creek.

"Yes, I'm impressed that you noticed. You are very talented honey," she whispered while glancing at Sophia. They both then stepped out of the water and slowly followed the tracks south, hopefully, they were the group but the female Dixon wasn't going to take any chances and run into another herd. They were moving throughout the forest following the tracks until they faded into the brush. She groaned in frustration and was about to turn them around when she heard a loud noise.

"Are those church bells?" Sophia asked.

"I believe so, but we shouldn't go near them."

Sophia gave Airianna a surprised look, "Why?! What if it's our friends ringing them? What if it's my mom? Or Rick?"

"Sophia that may be true, but there are a lot of walkers in these woods and they can most definitely hear the bells. If we go towards the sound we will more likely than not run into a lot of them. All I have to defend us with is one knife, I don't have a gun." She stated as gently as possible. Sophia solemnly nodded her head and then followed Airi as she veered off to the east away from the ringing bells. They continued their trek in the forest but stopped once they reached the slope of a high ridge. The mother gestured for Sophia to sit and she passed her fussy child into the girl's arms as she cracked open of the cans of peaches she had found in the house. She passed the food to the twelve-year-old while she took care of Eren's needs, cleaning him before passing a few small slices to the toddler. As her little boy munched on the sweet fruit she rested her legs and sipped on the water they had on them. Once both children had eaten thor fill she consumed the rest of the can and repacked the bag.

She raised her brow when Sophia refused to pass Eren back to her and grab the bag, "It'd be easier to fight if I was holding Eren, right?"

"Well yes," Blue eyes met brown. "But you can't go running off if you get scared. He'll be your responsibility." Sophia stood her ground and promised not to let anything happen to the poor boy so the mother relented and strapped the bag on her own back. Once the bag was secure she tightly grasped the young girl's hand before starting their trek up the ridge to get a better view of where they were in the damn place.

The small trio traveled in silence up the terrain and they were almost to the top when they heard a noise that made Sophia jump towards Airianna.

A gunshot, and then someone's screamed out, "Carl!"

They both looked towards each other when they realized who had screamed, "Rick!"


	11. Chapter 11

Both females rushed through the brush of the woods, jerking past any trees that entered their field of vision as they attempted to track down the source of the screaming that echoed through the forest seconds ago. While Airi prayed it was Rick she steeled herself for whatever they may run into. She continued to pull Sophia through the trees until she reached a clearing with a dead deer in it. She immediately stopped and dropped Sophia's hand while they both tried to regain their breath.

"What happened to the poor deer, Miss Airi?"

"Hunter, most likely. Though Rick's scream was near here as well, so maybe one of the group was in the crossfire of the bullet..." She mumbled while squatting down near the dead animal. She looked towards the neck of the deer and noticed that there was a bullet hole, but no bullet, and there was a clean exit wound as well. "Or got hit by a bullet that went through the poor thing." Airianna quickly stood up again and saw a large pool of blood about 10 feet away from the animal corpse. She grabbed Sophia's hand and led her towards the puddle, skirting around the blood as she searched for tracks.

The little girl adjusted her grip on Eren as she too glanced at the ground, smiling when she caught sight of footprints near the edge of the clearing, "Miss Airi, look!" Brown eyes shot towards where the blonde girl was pointing and smiled.

Bingo.

Airianna patted the little girl's head then pulled Sophia along carefully as they followed the tracks out of the forest. The mess of tracks were littered with drops of blood and the redhead could only hope that they were not from someone in their group. They followed the footprints to the end of the forest and through a large grassy pasture but paused at the sight of cows grazing nearby.

"Sophia, come on. We're getting closer." The younger girl tore her gaze from the herd of cows to glance up at Eren' mother.

"Where do the tracks lead to, Miss Airi?"

"Hopefully, to our group."

They were half-way through their trek in the field heading towards a white, pristine farmhouse in the distance when Airianna noticed that the sun was setting and that night would soon fall. She steeled her nerves, squeezed Sophia's hand for reassurance, and continued towards the homestead. They were almost to the fence when they saw a brown horse heading towards the house with two women on its back, one with short brown hair and one with long brown hair. The woman with the long hair was wearing an outfit that Airi knew she had seen before. She pulled Sophia along in a hurry to catch up to the animal as it approached the house.

"Lori!?"

The long-haired woman turned towards the sound of her name and was shocked to see a rather dirty Airianna with Sophia by her side and the little girl grabbing tightly to the woman's own child, "Oh my god... Airianna, Sophia. You're here. You're alright!" She jumped off the equestrian and ran towards them, pulling all three into a large hug. "We all have been worried sick."

The doctor gently pulled away from the other mother and glanced her eyes over to the other mysterious woman, "We know, but what's going on? We heard a gunshot and followed some pretty heavy tracks here."

The younger short-haired woman, who had been silent until then walked towards them and spoke up, "Carl's been shot." Sophia gasped at her words and Airi pulled the little girl into her side as she looked at Lori with disbelief. When the Grimes woman refused to meet her gaze she instead turned her look to the other brunette.

"Take us to him please…" She asked, leaving the request open-ended with her brows raised.

The new woman caught on to her pause, "Maggie."

She then led the two exhausted women and the children into her family's home, calling out to her father. The man stepped out of a room whipping his hands on a towel and eyed Airianna and the children cautiously while signaling for Lori to enter the room he had exited. Once the mother was out of the Dixon's line of sight the older man offered her a chair and she settled herself and the children on an antique red couch.

A woman named Patricia had entered the sitting room shortly after the man had once more stepped into the closed-off room to retrieve Lori and kindly checked her, Sophia, and Eren for any injuries. She also provided a brief explanation of how her husband had accidentally shot the young Grimes and now he and Shane were looking for supplies to do abdominal surgery on the poor boy. Once she was done she wandered back into the kitchen and the older man, Hershel, was now explaining to them and Lori that Rick was in the other room giving a transfusion to Carl. Airianna hoped that it was just his first one as she knew more than most the danger of multiple transfusions and she doubted Rick would enjoy another coma.

Rick entered the room with the short-haired woman, Maggie, who was making sure he was walking straight, "Slow," She instructed him. "Slow." Rick fell into the chair next to Lori with a groan, but still spared a relieved look at the now found members of his group.

"How many transfusions?" Airianna asked.

"Two," Rick replied. "Only two."

"He wanted to do the same for you when you were in the hospital," Lori said a fond smile on her lips. "I had to talk him out of it."

"You're starting to look pale, Hershel do you have any orange juice that Rick could drink?" Hershel nodded his head at the red-haired woman and went to get a glass. He walked back in and handed the glass full of orange liquid to Rick, who shakily stood up to receive it.

Lori then sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Okay so, I understand, when Shane gets back with this other man..."

"Otis," Hershel provided.

"Otis," she repeated. "The idiot who shot my son."

"It was an accident, Lori," Airianna reminded her.

"I'll take that under advisement later. For now, he's the idiot who shot my son."

"Lori, they're doing everything they can to make it right," Rick tried to calm her as he grabbed one of her hands.

Lori ignored this, choosing instead to return to the conversation with Hershel, "Okay, as soon as they get back, you can perform the surgery?" she asked.

"I'll certainly do my best," Hershel answered.

She nodded. "Okay, and you've done this procedure before?"

"Well, yes, in a sense."

"In a sense?" She repeated.

"Honey, we don't have the luxury of shopping for a surgeon," Rick said, which had Airi raising her brow as she stroked Sophia's hair.

Lori patted Rick's arm. "No, I understand that. But, I mean, you're a doctor, right?"

"Yes, ma'am," Hershel calmly replied. "Of course. A vet." Airianna's head perked up at that statement.

"A veteran?" Lori asked hopefully. "A combat medic?"

Hershel hesitated. "A veterinarian."

Airianna attempted and failed to hide her snort at Lori's shocked face. It didn't surprise her that the man was a veterinarian. He did live on a farm. She raised her brows at the couple as they stared at the man in shock, clearly forgetting they had access to another doctor, "And you've done this surgery before on what?" Lori continued to question him. "Cows? Pigs?"

"I-I have to sit down," Rick muttered and collapsed into his seat as his legs gave out. He dropped his glass, and Airianna and Lori rushed to him to straighten him up before he fell off of the chair.

Once they had straightened Rick, Lori looked back at Hershel, "You're completely in over your head, aren't you?"

"Ma'am, aren't we all?" Hershel answered truthfully.

Airianna carefully moved the now sleeping girl from her slumped position next to her down on the couch she was previously sitting in and walked up to Hershel, "If someone can watch over Eren and Sophia, I could perform the procedure." Lori's head shot up at her comment and Hershel looked at the redheaded woman with confusion.

"That's right, how could I forget?" Lori asked herself. " You were the head of your department in the hospital, a surgeon. How could I ever forget that?"

Airianna smiled at Lori's words and patted her shoulder, "You're stressed out. It's normal to forget stuff." She watched as Lori nodded and then turned back to her husband. Airi turned back towards Hershel. "Would you mind helping me with the procedure? I might have been the chief of surgery at my hospital, but I haven't had time to practice my skill set." Hershel chuckled at the lighthearted words and nodded his head at the fellow doctor.

He allowed her into the room Carl was resting in and she frowned at the sight of the boy's pale face. She checked his pulse while Hershel took his blood pressure, and they both furrowed their brows at the low readings. Shane and Otis hadn't yet returned from their trip, and it was obvious that Carl didn't have much longer. She stepped out of the room and approached the worried parents, "Pressure's dropping," she informed. "We can't wait much longer."

"Take some more," Rick said, offering up his arm. "Whatever he needs. Then I'm gonna go."

"Go? Go where?" Lori asked.

"He said five miles," The sheriff replied. "They should be back by now. Something's gone wrong."

"Are you insane? You're not going after them."

"Rick, listen to your wife," Hershel tried to reason with him.

"If they got into trouble—" The weak man started to argue.

"You're in no condition to do anything," Airianna reminded him. "You've given too much blood. You're barely on your feet. You wouldn't make it across the yard."

"If something happened, I have to go," Rick continued to try to convince his wife.

"No, your place is here," Lori said sternly. "If Shane said he'll be back, he'll be back."

"Lori's right," The older doctor jumped in. "The high school was overrun the last time Otis was there. If it still is, they're having to maneuver their way around to get everything they need and get back. It may take a while, but they'll be back."

"I can't just sit here," Rick argued.

"That is exactly what you do!" Lori snapped. "If you need to pray or cry or tell God he's cruel, you go right ahead, but you're not leaving, Rick. Carl needs you—here. And I can't do this by myself. Not this one. I can't."

Rick stared at her for a moment before nodding.

The female doctor went back to Carl for a bit to keep an eye on him but then allowed the family some private time together. She quietly slipped from the bedroom and took a seat in the chair Rick had occupied earlier, letting her muscles relax as her vision shifted to the two children in the room. Sophia remained asleep on the couch with Eren snuggled next to her and she smiled at the sight of them curled up together finally getting some peaceful dreams. Her focus shifted when Rick's voice echoed out, "Carl?" Airianna looked towards the room Carl was in with her body turned towards the sound. It took her a second to recognize the worry in Rick's voice, but once she did, she shot up and rushed into the room. She reached the doorway to see Carl thrashing on the bed uncontrollably.

"Don't," Airianna warned as Lori moved to grab her son. "It's a seizure. If you hold him down, he could hurt himself."

"You can't stop it?" Lori demanded desperately.

"He has to go through it," Hershel added as he quickly moved around in the room. Once the seizure had stopped, the older man opened Carl's eyes so he could take a look at his pupils. "His brain isn't getting enough blood," He stated as he saw that Carl's pupils were dilated. "His pressure's bottoming. He needs another transfusion."

"Okay, I'm ready," Rick said.

"If we take anymore from you, your body could shut down," Hershel argued. "You could go into a coma or cardiac arrest." The other doctor nodded her head as Rick turned to her for confirmation. He sighed in disappointment but tilted his in agreement as he and Lori went back to their seats.

Airianna sat outside of Carl's room discussing with Hershel on what choices they had left as the time passed. They both knew that they were running out of time and couldn't wait much longer for Shane and Otis to return with the respirator and vital machine.

"I'll tell them," Airianna declared as she walked towards the room that held the members of the Grimes family. As she stepped in and closed the door behind herself Lori stood from her seat to talk to her while Rick remained by his son's side.

"What's going on, Airianna?"

"We're going to have to make a decision and it will have to be made fast."

"A decision?" Rick questioned. "About what?"

"We are running out of time and Shane and Otis aren't back yet, so I suggest that we may have to operate without the needed equipment." She gently explained as she watched the parents' faces fade to horror.

"I thought Hershel said that wouldn't work," Lori stated.

"Look, I don't like it either, but we are running out of time. It's either that or watching your son slip away." Rick nodded his head and her words and stood up.

"Do it."

"Alright," Airianna turned back and opened the door of the room. "Hershel, we're ready to go." Hershel, Maggie, and Patricia then quickly rushed in with hands full of clean sheets, scalpels, sutures, a clean rolling dining table, along with multiple bottles of medication and anesthesia. The trio set up all of the lamps in the room around the now still table as they prepared to transfer the injured child to the makeshift operating table. "Okay, Rick grab the corner of the bedsheet," Airianna instructed as she gathered up the other edge of the sheets. "Let's get the sheets down, everybody." She pointed to the IV Carl was attached to next to the bed. "Get the IV bag on the sheet." Maggie grabbed the IV bag and placed it on the bed before reaching past Rick and sliding her arm under Carl's head so that she could pull away the pillow to lay him out flat. She handed the pillow to Rick, and he threw it onto the other side of the bed. Maggie laid Carl back down and grabbed the upper left corner of the bedsheet.

"On three. One, two three."

She lifted her corner as the others did the same. They all maneuvered the child onto the operating table and then dropped the corners they were holding when Carl was safely set down. Maggie began to lead Rick and Lori from the room, and while they were about to protest they halted when Airianna muttered from behind Maggie, "You all might want to step out."

Before they even took another step out of the room, everybody heard the sound of a truck approaching the house. "Wait," Lori cried. She hurried over to the window at the front of the room and pulled back the curtain to see into the yard. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw a blue truck tearing through the front yard. "They're back," she gasped.

Lori, Rick, Hershel, and Maggie rushed out to see the men in the truck as Airianna and Patricia stayed to continue prepping the area. Airianna glanced at Carl and prayed to god Shane and Otis had been able to find every piece they needed for the machines to properly function. She breathed a sigh of relief when Hershel and Maggie started dragging bags full of the necessary supplies along with a portable vital machine used in ambulances. She assisted Hershel in adding the reading monitors onto Carl's chest and smiled at the familiar sound of a computerized heartbeat coming from the new medical equipment.

Three hours later found the married couple nervously waiting in the sitting room for anybody to give them news on their child. Shane offered to sit with them when the surgery started, but Maggie insisted he go clean himself up after the harrowing ordeal. While the pair waited they steeled their faces when Sophia awoke and promised Carl was going to be just fine. Rick and Lori both jumped to their feet when Airianna exited the room with a tired look on her face and a few new bloodstains on her clothes.

She smiled at the pair and they relaxed, "He seems to have stabilized."

"Oh God," Rick breathed in relief.

Rick walked towards the female doctor and hugged her gratefully. Hershel quietly stepped out of the room as well while Patricia was cleaning up. The brown-eyed doctor pulled away from her friend, "I was able to remove all six pieces of the bullet and sew up any leaking blood vessels. Carl will need plenty of rest, but I am sure he will be awake sometime tomorrow."

"I don't have words," Lori sobbed happily.

"I don't either," Hershel spoke as he walked up to the happy husband and wife. "I wish I did. How do I tell Patricia about Otis?"

The smile fell from Lori's face.

"You go to Carl," Rick offered to his wife. "I'll go with Hershel."

Airianna watched as they all went their separate ways before turning to the now awake little girl, and Sophia beamed while giving her a tight hug around the waist, "Thank you for saving us both, Miss Airi," She whispered.

"What can I say, I have an awful big soft spot for you kids," Airianna replied with a smirk on her face. She then glanced up when a cough sounded and locked eyes with Shane who was dressed in new clothes along with a new hairstyle.

"I'm surprised you three made it out of that forest alive since it must have been crawling with walkers." Airianna gave him a look and then sighed.

"My tracking skills are just as great as Daryl's, we ended up following your tracks here to the farm," She offered up and pursed her lips as she watched the other cop mutter under his breath. "That reminds me, where is my husband?" Shane rubbed his head as he watched Sophia slowly pull away from the woman to go talk to Maggie, who was watching Eren in the kitchen.

"He's with the rest of the group on the highway. They'll be coming here tomorrow morning. T-Dog and Glenn are here though." Airianna quickly glanced around at the mention of the two other members of their ragtag group.

"Where?"

"Kitchen." Airianna rushed into the said room as Shane remained rooted in his spot. She flung the door of the kitchen open to see Maggie, T-Dog, Glenn, and Sophia sitting at the table smiling and talking with each other. She noticed that Eren was sitting in Maggie's lap, and laughed as her son saw her and started grabbing his hands out towards his mother.

"When did you two get here?" she asked the men who had failed to see her rather loud entrance. T-Dog and Glenn looked up at her and jumped out of their seats to encompass the woman in a tight hold.

"Oh, man. Airi, we are so glad you all are safe." Glenn whispered as he pulled out of the group hug.

"Yea, yo husband was getting all riled up at the thought of y'all being missing," T-Dog said while chuckling and Airianna giggled a bit as well. "Thought he was about to go all lone wolf on us."

"That's Daryl for you, but I'm sure Carol will be happy to see her little girl again," She happily added as she watched Sophia ask for Eren from Maggie, the twelve-year-old girl clumsily grabbing the squirming toddler before he settled down in her arms.

"Yep, all we have to do is wait until tomorrow morning for the rest to get here." Airianna sighed at Glenn's statement.

Tomorrow.


	12. Chapter 12

Airianna sat outside in the early morning heat on the porch watching Rick, Glenn, and Shane gather up stones for Otis's memorial service while she was holding Eren. She had already checked on Carl when she got up and was now just waiting around with Sophia and T-Dog for the rest of the group to arrive. She smiled as Sophia sat down on the rocking chair next to her. It seemed that the little girl had taken quite a liking to the red-headed woman and her little boy.

"Miss Airi?"

"Yes, Sophia?" Airianna turned towards the twelve-year-old.

"Could I hold Eren for a bit?" the woman smiled and shifted so she could pass her son over to her.

"Sure honey, sure." Sophia giggled as Eren squirmed in her lap. Both of them paused in their affection for the toddler when they heard the sound of a motorcycle engine revving nearby. They looked toward the dirt road leading to the Greene farm and saw the RV and the station wagon driving up in the distance along with Daryl's motorcycle covering the rear of the caravan. Airianna reached to Sophia and pulled Eren from her lap as they rose from their seats. She then turned towards T-Dog as he walked up to the two females, "Go get the others."

"Yeah alright," He muttered in agreement before he ran back towards the others on the side of the house. As the rest of their people walked up the small caravan pulled to a stop a little bit away from the front of the farmhouse. Airi watched as Daryl hopped off his mode of transport with a sullen expression on his face.

"Daryl," His head shot up at the sound of the voice that he had been missing.

"Airi...Eren, thank fuckin' god," he yelled as he ran towards his family and pulled them into a hug. As he hugged his wife and son it seemed as if they weren't truly real. It felt as if he would wake up and be back on that highway hearing that his wife and son were lost to him. They pulled away from each other and shared a small kiss as the rest of the group hopped out of the remaining cars The small family watched as Carol ran out of the RV as soon as she saw her daughter.

"Sophia! Sophia!"

"Mama!"

The young girl sprinted towards her mother and they squeezed each other tightly when they met. The rest of the group and the Greene family watched as the two families reconnected. Dale smiled at the sight and then frowned a bit before he turned towards Rick and Lori.

"How is he?" The older man asked worriedly.

Lori smiled at Dale, "He'll pull through," She reassured him. "Thanks to Hershel and his people." She nodded towards Airianna. "And Airi, and.." She trailed off as she turned her gaze onto the freshly shaved man standing next to T-Dog and Glenn.

"And Shane," Rick added for her. "We'd have lost Carl if not for him."

The Dixon family watched as everyone else looked more relaxed after the brief conversation. The redhead blushed at the words of gratitude she received from everyone, but Daryl chuckled at his wife's reaction and hugged her closer.

"How'd it happen?" Dale wondered.

"Hunting accident," Rick sighed. "That's all. Just a stupid accident."

After the whole group had time to reconnect, from the hunter whispering to his wife how he got Andrea to puke her guts up after she laughed at his poison oak story to Sophia excitedly telling her mother how well she took care of Eren as the females had to roam through the woods, everyone thanked Hershel and his family for letting them onto the property. Hershel silently nodded his head while Maggie and Beth smiled at the group and said a simple "your welcome." Hershel then led a silent Patricia towards the pile of rocks the men had gathered for Otis earlier in the morning. The mood grew dim and somber as the whole group silently followed behind the grieving widow. Every person had grabbed a rock to add to the pile and now stood in a semi-circle around it as Hershel began to read from his bible. After the older man read and added a few anecdotes about Otis to his eulogy, starting with Patricia, each member of the service added their rock and silent prayer for the lost man. When it got to the far end of the semi-circle where Shane was standing further from the others Hershel turned towards him.

"Shane, will you speak for Otis?" Shane's eyebrows shot up in surprise as he struggled to find words.

"I'm not good at it," He mumbled. "I'm sorry."

"You were the last one with him," Patricia whimpered out, "You shared his final moments. Please, I need to hear. I need to know his death had meaning."

Shane looked down at his hands as he fiddled with the rock he was grasping tightly moments earlier. He sighed and looked at the group and slightly flinched when he made eye contact with Patricia's tearful gaze.

"We…. We were about done, almost out of ammo we were down two pistols. By then I was limping, it's bad. Ankle all swollen up. 'We gotta save the boy.' See that's what he said. He gave me his backpack, he shoved me ahead. 'Run' he said, 'I'll take the rear, I'll cover you. But when I looked back..." He shot his eyes around at the group of onlookers before turning his gaze back to the ground. She limped towards the pile of rocks under the tree and he continued, "If not for Otis, I never would have made it out alive. And that goes for Carl too." He lifted his rock and gently set it onto the top of the pile. "It was Otis, he saved us both." He patted the rock once it was fully set and turned back to the group, staring directly at the widow, "If any death ever had meaning, Otis' did."

With his words the older blonde woman burst into tears, turning her head into Beth's shoulder as she mourned the loss of her husband. The group spent the rest of the short funeral in silence until the Greene family slowly broke up to go back to the farmhouse and they, in turn, made their way to trail of cars parked between the home and the small orchard of trees near the inner fence of the property. Daryl happily swept Eren into his arms as Airi followed next to him, speaking in a quiet voice with Carol who insisted on explicitly thanking the woman who protected her daughter. She assisted Glenn and Daryl with setting up a few of the group's tents while Sophia kept an eye on Eren and Lori kept an eye on her. She giggled at the sight of the girl acting like she was fully responsible, completely blind to the watchful eye the brunette mother leveled her with as she sat in the grass with the gurgling toddler.

She breathed a sigh of relief when the small camp was set up between the RV and the trees and plopped down near the kids. Sophia waved at her and lifted Eren's hand so he could wave at his mother as well. The boy instead immediately brought his tiny fist into his mouth the moment it came into his eyesight and the twelve-year-old gasped before attempting to get the younger child to release his hand from his mouth. The only thing she succeeded in doing was causing Eren to let out a wail as his hand separated from his mouth, and the blonde, desperate, flitted her gaze from him to his mother begging for help. Airi rose from her spot on the ground and joined the space next to Sophia, gently sweeping the boy into her arms and rocking him until his cries turned into small whimpers.

"How are you so good with him, Miss Airi?"

The mother smiled down at the girl, "A lot of practice mainly," She then turned her eyes to the now grumpy boy in her arms and tried to hold back her smile when he crossed his tiny arms in the same way his father does, "And you mister, no chewing on your hands anymore."

The toddler whined, "No!"

She sighed, "Sophia?" The blonde girl straightened her back at the woman saying her name. "Go up to Daryl and ask him to give you Eren's baby bag, would you?"

She slowly stood up as she glanced at the hunter tossing bags into one of the larger tents, "He won't mind me bothering him?"

"Not at all, now go on, hon."

Sophia nodded her head and walked away from the comforting presence of the mother and child and closer to the final member of the small family. She gulped as she got closer to the tall man and paused as he let out a loud arrangement of swear words when a backpack fell from his arms. The girl then took a deep breath and lightly tapped the hunter on his shoulder, jumping back when he quickly swung around with a slight scowl on his face. But she relaxed when he let his annoyed expression fall as he locked eyes with the little girl, "What you want, little girl?"

She bristled at his sharp words but still quietly muttered, "Miss Airi wants me to ask you for Eren's baby bag." She flickered her eyes from his form to the ground and she wrung her hands together behind her back. "He's been gnawing on his hand."

"Christ," He breathed out before turning into the tent, rifling through the small pile of bags to track down the pale blue bag his wife had requested. "Thought he would stop that after his teeth done came in." He crawled out of the tent and passed the small duffle bag over to the younger girl, "Here, should have what she's lookin' for."

Sophia carefully grasped then hefty bag from Daryl, "Thank you, mister."

"Un uh, none of that 'mister' crap. Just call me Daryl if you have to," He muttered and smirked as she nodded her head before turning to walk back to his wife and child.

She turned her head back while she was wandering back to Airi and called out, "Thanks, Daryl." The hunter waved the girl's appreciation off and turned away so she wouldn't catch the small blush of embarrassment growing on his face.

"See? What did I say, Sophia?" Airi started once the girl sat next to her and passed the blue bag over to her waiting hands. "Daryl's just a big ole' softie once you get him talking." The mother shuffled through the bag until she pulled out a small purple rubber ring with a cute sheep design on it, quickly passing it to her son and smiled when Eren tightly grasped the teething toy and began to nibble on it. The pair sat in the peaceful breeze for a little bit watching the youngest child of the group play with his new fixation.

Footsteps broke Airianna's focus, but she offered a friendly smile to Glenn as he approached, "Hi Glenn, need something?"

"Uhh," He stuttered. "Lori wants you to check on Carl again, and I'm heading into town with Maggie to um...Look for supplies at some pharmacy and a gun store."

She quirked her brows as she passed her son to Sophia and gestured for her to head to the RV where her mother was standing waiting for her, "You two going alone?"

He nodded, "Yeah no one else volunteered. Dale and T-Dog are getting water from one of the wells, Shane and Andrea are going to head back to the highway to check for anything else there, and Daryl said something about bagging a deer?"

"Hmm, well I can come along after I check on Carl, might be good to have an extra hand."

The Korean man seemed confused at her offer but shrugged his shoulders in agreement before he wandered off to the stables where Maggie was making her way out with a haybale over her shoulder. Airi rolled her neck and walked up to the house where Carl was recovering, nodding to Hershel as she climbed the steps of the porch. The older man kindly smiled at his fellow doctor as she stepped into his home. She quietly passed through the sitting room she and the others of her group spent the previous night in and lightly knocked on the door to Carl's temporary bedroom. When she heard a sound of acknowledgment from Lori she entered the room and was greeted by the woman sitting by her son's bedside.

"Hey, Airianna. How are you feeling?"

She moved around the bed as Lori spoke and picked up the stethoscope Hershel left there last night, "Doing better in clean clothes, but let's see how Carl's doing."

"He woke up," The worried mother mentioned. "Last night after you went to sleep, was asking about Sophia."

The doctor nodded her head as she took his pulse and moved on to check his blood pressure, "That's good, means he'll be fine. Doubt he has any worry of brain damage if he remembers what happened before he was shot."

"Br-brain damage?" Lori stammered.

"He did suffer from a seizure last night," She reminded the other woman. "Always a slight worry of another coming or perhaps some memory issues, but he seems right as rain considering." She carefully lifted the bandages and noted the lack of swollen or inflamed tissue near the fresh stitches. "And no swelling or sight of infection near the wound either, all good signs."

Lori absently nodded her head as she took in her friend's words, "So he's going to be alright?"

Airi straightened her back when she finished her exam and turned to the mother, "Lori, Carl is going to be just fine. His skin is less pale, like pulse is strong, he has good blood pressure readings, and there is no sign of infection at the moment. Add to the fact he already woke up earlier than I expected I am quite certain he will be wide awake and trying to crawl out of bed in a few hours." Lori breathed a sigh of relief at the clean bill of health her son was given. "However, he needs to stay in bed for at least a couple days and someone needs to change his bandages every 12 hours to stave off any worries of infection. I'll talk to Hershel about setting up a small schedule for the next few days."

Lori beamed down at her son as she fixed his messy hair, "I don't know how to thank you." She fussed with her son for a little bit longer before she turned back to face the female doctor.

"Lori, it's no problem," She shrugged her shoulders and let her eyes trail to the floor. "I'm heading out soon with Glenn and Maggie on the supply run."

The brunette woman frowned but did little more to disagree when Airi turned on her heel and left the mother and son to their own devices. She strode out of the house, keeping her head down as she went hoping to avoid any more unwanted attention. It had been a while since she was the center of attention and she forgot how much she despised it sometimes. She did love working at the hospital, saving lives, but she also hated it. It was a double-edged sword for her, her need to help others in constant strife with her anxiety and self-doubt.

A scream shook her out of her mind and she shot her head to the far side of the farm and started to sprint towards the large group of people surrounding one of the many wells on the property. She skidded to a halt and gasped when she saw Andrea, T-Dog, Shane, and Dale all pulling desperately on a rope that was lowered in the well, but when she heard Glenn's screams for help coming from said well paired with the rasping and growling of a walker she jumped into action and joined the four others in pulling the poor man out. She grimaced as the rope cut into her skin, but relaxed when Glenn's arm grasped the outer edge of the well and Maggie pulled on his other hand to help lift him to safety.

The others released the rope tied around Glenn's waist as he let out haggard breaths while Dale walked up to the bent-over man and lightly patted his back, "Well, back to the drawing board."

The Korean man scoffed as he shoved a piece of rope into the older man's hand, "Says you."

Dale looked at the rope in confusion but widened his eyes when the other end of the rope started to tug from inside the well. Airi followed the rope with her eyes and gagged at the sight and smell of the bloated walkers shuffling around at the bottom of the water. The corpse reached its bulging arms up at her and the others surrounding the hole, completely ignoring the rope lassoed around its torso. They kept a close eye on the walker and the rope grasped in Dale's hands until Maggie approached once more with a saddled horse to assist in removing the walker from her family's water supply. They hitched the end of the rope Dale had to the saddle and Maggie led the horse away from the well while the others started to pull on the moving rope, hoisting the growling walker out of the hole.

"Come on y'all, pull!" Shane yelled as the finally walker reached the rim of the well. T-Dog signaled for the pulling to cease as the monster laid half on the ground and half hanging over the edge of the well, but Shane continued the tugging, "Just a little more, almost there!" The group pulled harder, but the walker's body caught on the lip of the stone and refused to budge at all.

"It's stuck!" Andrea cried.

The pullers gave one more tug to free the walker from its position, but the bottom half of the corpse ripped open and fell straight back to the water, successfully polluting the water for good. Airi sighed in disappointment and dropped the rope along with Glenn as the rest joined them.

Dale rubbed his forehead as she looked away from the still squirming creature, "We should seal off this well."

"Yeah," Shane conceded as he glared at the walker. "Might be a good idea."

Andrea pointed at the walker, "So what do we do about-" T-Dog swung the crowbar in his hand directly onto the walker's head successfully interrupting the woman and finally killing the corpse.

The group of onlookers glanced at him in a mixture of shock and confusion but he simply shrugged his shoulders, "Good thing we didn't do something stupid like shoot it."

Airi rolled her eyes at his sarcasm and stepped away from the scene to collect her backpack from her and Daryl's tent. She raised her brow as she passed Maggie who looks positively green from the events at the well, perhaps she had never seen a walker that close before? This entire farm was pretty cut off from the rest of the world and as she stepped into the tent and collected her bag she figured most of the Greene family had not experienced what happened in this new world. She exited the tent and waved at Carol who was sitting with Sophia and Eren by the RV before she walked over to the stables where Maggie had left three freshly saddled horses roped to the fence outside.

The redhead smiled at the animals and calmly ran her hand over the neck of the brown and tan mare nibbling on the grass. She waited patiently until Glenn and Maggie arrived with empty bags for their run, and smiled kindly at the country girl and the pizza boy she had grown fond of. The pair nodded to her and they all mounted their horses and let Maggie lead the way off of the farm. Glenn followed closely to the young woman and Airi made up the rear of the procession, smirking each time Glenn attempted to get the other woman to talk to him for longer than five seconds.

They had just rounded a corner connecting the dirt road to the pavement one when Glenn offered his next olive branch, "You know, normally this is the kind of thing I do on my own. Solo," Airi snorted at his lame attempt to impress Maggie but glanced away when Glenn shot her an annoyed glare before trying again to get a response out of the short-haired brunette. "It's sort of my thing, you know? I'm a loner."

Maggie rolled her eyes as the man continued his pathetic ramblings, but turned her head slightly when the silent woman in the back finally spoke up, "You all right?"

She slowed her horse a little and locked eyes with the other woman, "I'm fine."

"I saw the look on your face back at the well," The doctor lightly prodded and bit her lip when Maggie glanced away from her.

Glenn nodded his head in agreement, "Never seen one killed up close before?" The Greene woman ignored the pair and let her horse walk a bit ahead of them. "Guess it's kind of a shock. You know being out on the road, we've seen a lot. Guess we've gotten a little numb to it," He shamefully admitted to the young woman.

"Woah," Maggie called to the horse as she slowed to a stop and waited for the others to join her in dismounting. "I guess so." She deftly tied up all three horses to the small flag pole outside of the pharmacy and gestured for Glenn to head on inside. "Airi is it?" The redhead nodded. "The gun store is at the end of the block, should still have some camping supplies and such." She tipped her hat and followed the Korean man into the pharmacy to search for the items on their list.

Airianna waited until the pair were further back into the store before turning on her heel and wandering down to the building Maggie had pointed her towards. The store was small with wooden siding, a small painted sign hanging above the old glass door, and large bay windows supposedly for advertising their wares, and she peered into the glass to scope for any danger hidden inside. She creaked the door open and tapped the wall, waiting for anything to jump out of the shelving or isles. When no sounds echoed from the inside of the store she quietly slipped inside and unzipped her bag. She frowned at the empty gun display by the front windows but hoped there would be some hidden in the back in a break room or storage closet. She did smile at the sight of MRIs hanging on hooks by the shelf along with an assortment of pocket knives and machetes. She shoved the weapons and dehydrated food into her bag and glanced to her right to peer down the other isle in the small building. The other isle by the far wall was nearly picked clean with only a few winter jackets hanging off the shelf from their previously folded position and a few packs of metal arrows.

She thanked the Lord for the arrows and happily placed them in her bag, excited to show Daryl when he returned from his hunt. She spared a glance at the jackets and noted the pale purple one and the dark blue one were around Carl and Sophia's sizes, and decided to toss them in as well. Hopefully, they would find a use for them when the weather turned colder.

A sound from behind caught her attention and she spun around, tightly grasping her hunting knife between her fist as she scanned the back of the store. Most of the camping tents and other supplies were stripped clean from the back wall of the store, but there was a small black door on the corner of the wall that was shut tight. She carefully approached the door and paused as another sound floated out from behind the barrier.

She weighed her options: was fighting a walker worth the chance of other supplies? Yes.

The redhead steeled her nerves, lifted her knife, and turned the knob of the door with her other hand. She pulled the door fully open and waited for a corpse to jump out on her, but was confused when no shuffling or growls entered her eardrums. Quietly, she stepped into the darkened room and waited for any movement at all, relaxing slightly when once again no signs of a walker come into her hearing or vision. Airi reached for the flashlight on the side of her bag and flicked it on towards the entrance of the room. The now apparent storage closet was bare of most supplies, but a single small wooden crate sat against the far wall completely untouched compared to its cardboard counterparts. She strode over to the promising crate when a hand latched onto her ankle and pulled her to the ground.

The woman cried out as she hit the floor and snapped her head to the hand grasping her leg, grimacing when a thin decaying walker stared back at her, chomping its jaw towards her foot. She kicked at its head with her free leg and released a deep breath when her other foot was freed then swiftly jammed her knife deep into its skull, stopping its attack once and for all. Haggard breathing echoed around her as she stumbled to her feet and whipped her dirty blade on the body's raggedy shirt.

Airi then turned and hastily pried the lid of the crate off and beamed at the sight inside: a compound bow nestled with a quiver full of metal arrows. She tossed the bow around her shoulders and let the quiver join it before quickly fleeing from the now picked clean store.

The woman allowed herself a couple of deep breaths as she waited by the horses for the other two to leave the pharmacy. Laughter broke her from her breathing and She hopped onto the mare she rode in on as Glenn and Maggie mounted theirs. The ride back was mainly spent in silence, with Glenn glancing continuously at the woman he collected supplies with. And Airi was definitely picking up on the awkward aura rolling off of the other woman in waves.

"Stop it," Maggie finally broke the silence.

"What? What did I do?" Glenn shot his eyes away from her nervously and the redhead rolled her own at his obviousness.

"Just," Maggie started exasperatedly. "You'll spoil it."

"Oh, so you did like it."

Maggie glared at the Korean man while she flitted her eyes back to Airi, "It was a one-time thing." She harshly whispered out, hoping her words missed the doctor's ears.

"Oh don't worry Maggie," The young adult tensed as Airianna spoke up. "When you've been married as long as I have, hearing about random sex from your female friends is nothing new."

"God Airi, you just made yourself sound about a hundred years old," Glenn jutted in.

"Well, one: I agree with Glenn, how long have you been married? And two: who said we were friends?" Maggie pointed out.

The Dixon woman threw her head back in laughter, "Sorry, well you seem like someone I wouldn't mind being friends with." She kindly explained as she rose her horse closer to the other woman's. "And Daryl and I got married about five years ago, right after my twenty-third birthday."

Maggie nodded her head in acceptance as they rode back onto the farm and towards the stables to unsaddle the horses, but it was Glenn's turn to be confused, "Wait if your twenty-eight then how old is Daryl?"

"Thirty. Had his birthday a week before everything went down."

The man quirked his brow, "Just thought he was older than you by more than two years."

"God, Glenn," Airianna muttered as she led her mare back into the barn after Maggie's horse. "First you say I'm old, and now you say my husband must be far older than I am?"

"No! I didn't mean it like that, I just-" His stuttering was interrupted by her chuckles, and his anxiety melted to displeasure as she continued to make small sounds of mirth.

"I'm just messing Glenn."

He relaxed and finished putting away his horse before grabbing his cache of found supplies. He smiled at the still giggling woman as he followed after Maggie to properly disperse the items from the pharmacy, with Airi trailing behind. She paused in their walk to drop the jackets she collected for the kids with Lori and the other mother smiled while thanking her for the consideration. When she met up with Maggie and Glenn on the porch of the house she removed the arrows she stored in the backpack before handing the rest over to the pair to sort and divide. Once they started their job in full swing she wandered back to the small temporary camp with the bow and quiver still over her shoulder and the remaining packs of arrows tightly in her arms.

She stepped into the RV but paused at the sight of the spotless interior, any speck of dust or grime gone with only a shine and light whiff of lemon-scented cleaner left. Carol was sitting at the RV's table with Sophia looking over a workbook of sorts but paused in her small lesson to offer the fellow mother a sweet smile, "Glad to see you back okay."

"Oh, I was just fine Carol. Here Sophia," She carefully pulled the bow and quiver from her back and placed them down against the small kitchen counter across from where the little girl was sitting. "In case you want to learn. Safer than a gun, quieter."

The blonde child beamed at the offered gift, "Thank you, miss Airi. Eren's with Daryl. He came back and gave me this pretty flower." She proudly lifted the small blossom nestled in a coca-cola bottle towards her friend and Airi smiled at the familiar flower.

"Thank you for letting me know, hon. It's a pretty flower," She turned and began to leave the RV when she paused and looked back at Carol directly. "If you want her to learn just send her to Daryl. He's pretty nice once he pulls the stick out of his butt." The two Peletier females chuckled at the jest towards the poor Dixon man and the grey-haired woman waved the other mother off to her own child and husband.

Airianna wandered from the RV and into her and Daryl's tent in record speed, collapsing onto the two sleeping bags nested next to each other when she unzipped the opening. Her husband huffed at her tired state but finished laying Eren down to sleep in his makeshift cot before he laid down gently next to her. As he wrapped his arms around her waist she nestled her head against his should and peered at her now sleeping son, catching the placement of another coca-cola bottle on the small camping table next to his bed. She smirked at the flower matching Sophia's as she settled in for a well-deserved rest.

Cherokee roses never failed to lift her spirits, after all, Daryl was well aware of how much she loved them.


	13. Chapter 13

Washing clothes by hand was never Airianna's strong suit, she'll readily admit to anyone who asked. Give her a person with an aortic aneurysm or a ruptured spleen any day. Hell, even setting a simple broken bone would be less mind-numbing than the continuous motions of scrubbing the grime off of each piece of clothing before passing it to Carol for her to hang up to dry. If only washing machines still worked, but alas here she was: eight years of higher education and residency well spent on cleaning shirts.

Perhaps her annoyance would be lessened if Andrea would've come to help them earlier as she promised, but the moment Rick asked for someone to be on watch today she flung her hand up before he could even finish his sentence. Now she was happily perched on the RV with a rifle in her hands, completely ignoring the dirty looks Airianna gave her when she glanced down at the two women.

A sound to her right broke the Dixon from her thoughts and she watched as Lori sluggishly emerged from her and Rick's tent, exhaustion clear on her face, "I can't believe I slept in." She muttered as she joined Carol in wringing up the damp clothing.

"It's alright, you must have needed it," Carol kindly offered.

"Yeah," The doctor agreed with the short-haired woman. "It's been a long week and you've spent most of it watching after Carl."

The woman idly nodded her head, "Wake me next time okay? Especially on laundry day. Need all the help we can get."

"We're managing just fine," Carol pointed out.

"Sure," Airi added sarcastically. "Would go faster _if Andrea kept her promise_!" The other two mothers snorted at her raised voice and the blonde woman on the RV simply responded with her middle finger instead of words.

"You know," Carol spoke up, attempting to change the subject. "I had something I wanted to run by you, Lori."

"What's that?"

"Well, that big kitchen of theirs got me thinking. I wouldn't mind cooking in a real kitchen again. Maybe we all pitch in and cook dinner for Hershel and his family tonight."

"After everything they've done for us, it seems like the least we can do," Lori conceded.

"You mind extending the invitation?" Carol asked. When Lori quirked her brow she continued. "Would just feel more right coming from you."

"How so?"

"You're Rick's wife," Airi pointed out. "Makes you our unofficial first lady."

The brunette shrugged her shoulders and promised to ask Maggie and Patricia about the idea later and the trio then spent the final few minutes of washing up in peaceful silence. When the final pair of pants had been attached to the clothesline the women dispersed with Carol moving to check on Sophia and Eren in the RV and Lori following Airianna up to the house to check on Carl. The women separated as they stepped into the house, Lori heading to the kitchen to talk about the dinner plans and Airi heading to Carl's room to check on him once more.

She smiled at the boy as she entered and stepped over to his bedside, "Morning Carl, how are you feeling?"

"A lot better, and look!" He leaned over to the bedside table and grabbed the wide brim hat his father normally wore. "Dad gave me his hat."

"That's great, bet it looks fantastic on you," He happily placed the slightly large hat onto his head while the doctor checked on his healing wound. "Have you been doing the exercises and stretches I told you about?" The boy rapidly nodded his head as she took his pulse and temperature. "Then how about we try walking outside to the porch, see how well you handle that."

Carl beamed up at the redheaded woman and tossed the blankets off of his body, grabbing the sneakers by his head and carefully lacing them up as Airianna waited patiently for him. Once his shoes were tightly laced he slowly rose to his feet and took a deep breath, grabbing the woman's hand as they started their small journey to the outdoors. She kept a close eye on his breathing rate and was pleased that he was not getting winded from his activity, opening the front door for him as they stepped out into the sunlight. She led the healing boy to one of the rocking chairs and watched as he slumped into the wooden chair, only now starting to pant from exhaustion.

"Well, let's let you rest here, get some sunshine. How's that's sound?" Carl nodded at her words and she smiled at the boy before turning her head to the sound of the porch steps creaking. Carl waved as Shane and Rick walked towards him and Eren's mom.

Rick tilted his head in greeting at his friend and placed a light hand "Hey Carl, how are you doing?"

"Good, dad. What's up?"

"We just wanted to see how you're holding up," Rick explained. "And we wanted to have a little chat with Airianna here."

The woman in question quirked her brow, "What do you need to talk to me about?"

"Daryl went hunting again, took one of Hershel's horses to help bring back anything heavy he may snag."

"Smart," Shane snorted at her observation but looked away when she turned her gaze his way. "Anything else?"

"Well," Rick rubbed his hand through his hair. "Shane here is having some gun training tomorrow and we wanted to extend the invitation to you."

"Dad, can I learn to shoot?" Carl piped up.

"No," The boy frowned as his father's friend shut his question down. Rick spared Shane a look and patted his son's back.

"We'll have to take it up with your mother, see how she feels about it. Does that sound fair?" The boy rocked in his seat and glumly agreed with his father's offer. The ex-sheriff then turned to the doctor for her answer.

"Oh I'm good," She shook her hands. "No need for training."

Shane chuckled and placed his hands on his hips as he gave her a condescending look, "Now I'm sure you think that, hell Andrea thinks that she's a top-notch shot too."

"I am a good shot, Shane, before I was in the group I was alone with Eren for three whole months."

"Now see, I get that," He began. "But a few months of self-teaching still means you need a bit of gun training from a professional."

Airi scoffed at the man and stepped off of the porch, "Huh, let me this straight," She pointed to both of the men. "Neither of you think I know what I'm doing with a gun?"

Rick raised his hands, "Now, we didn't say that-"

"Shane did."

"Shane is a blunt kind of person, just how he is." Rick elaborated as he tried to alleviate the tense air.

She rolled her eyes, "Thank you for offering, but I grew up in a poor as all hell town. I spent my whole childhood tracking and hunting with my family and my friends."

"Why don't you go hunting with Daryl then? Pull your weight," Shane grunted as Rick elbowed him in the side for his crass comment.

"I'm going to assume that was a lapse of thought, Shane," The female Dixon growled out. "Because surely a smart man like you knows that me being a surgeon is one of the reasons Carl is still breathing."

"Hershel could've done it, you're just a spare."

"A vet is far different than a skilled surgeon, and for the record: Just because you think my husband is redneck white trash, even though he supports this group far more than you, does not mean you get to treat him or myself any differently," She glared at the man before turning on her heel and storming away. She ignored everyone she passed as she made her way from the house and the camp, stopping when she reached one of the pastures the cows were grazing in.

Attempting to take deep breaths to even her breathing out, she glanced back at the house and frowned when she saw Rick following after her. Instead of continuing to avoid him she sat down in the grass and crossed her legs, offering for him to sit next to her.

He carefully took a spot in the grass next to the huffing woman, "I am sorry about Shane."

She scoffed, "Why not have him come apologize?"

"It's just," He hesitated. "Shane was angry at me and took his anger out on you and that was wrong of him to do."

"Then why is he mad at you Rick?"

"He thinks we should've never gone looking for Sophia and you when y'all got lost," He waited to gauge her reaction before he said anything more.

"Why?"

The man rubbed his hand over his face when she looked him dead in the eye waiting for a better explanation, "He says it's math, basic survival. That searching wasted time, resources, and got Carl hurt in the process."

Airianna closed her eyes, "Do you agree with him?"

"No," Rick instantly denied the accusation. "If it was Carl that was lost, I would've done anything to find him, even if he...didn't make it."

"Thank you, Rick," She reached over and gently grabbed his hand. "And you're right, but it was never you or Shane who could make that choice. Only my husband and Carol, they were the ones with missing family members. They made the final decision."

"I know, I know. They would never give up, especially Daryl. Like a dog with a bone," She chuckled at the ex-sheriff's analogy. "And I want you to know that we would've kept looking if you didn't turn up, but I'm glad you did. You saved my son's life."

"But Shane would not have kept looking?" Rick reluctantly tilted his head in silent agreement, looking away in shame, but was surprised when he felt a soft hand land on his. He looked back and grasped Airianna's hand allowing her to pull him to his feet.

"Then you're a better man than he'll ever be," He smiled and released his breath while he watched the mother turn on her heel and wander back towards the farmhouse.

Airianna absorbed the deeper meanings from her conversation with Rick as she returned to the small cluster of tents. She glanced around as she climbed the steps of the house and nodded at the sight of Sophia, Eren, and Carl all congregated together near the far side of the porch where she set Carl to rest a little bit ago. Sophia and Carl happily waved at Eren's mother as she passed her and the redhead beamed at the sight of her son cheerfully squealing at the older children's actions. Maggie smiled at the doctor as she stepped into the front sitting home and gestured to the kitchen where the din of women talking and pots shuffling around floated to both of their ears.

Once she reached the kitchen Carol and Lori offered her quick 'hellos' before passing her a cutting board and a stack of vegetables to dice up for dinner. The continuous sounds of cooking and plates shuffling brightened the women's day and helped them pretend of a moment that they were simply setting up a small dinner party of such, "I never thought I'd be so happy to see a potato," Lori stated as she peeled the spuds next to Airi.

Carol laughed and nodded, "I'm just glad we're not roasting squirrels over a fire in the woods."

"I kinda miss it a bit," Airianna admitted.

"What?" Beth and Maggie's aunt, Patricia, quirked her brow. "Why would you miss something as crude as that?"

"Not like cooking squirrel now," She jokingly argued. "When I was little, Daryl and I lived real close to each other. And we would sneak out at night and have these little camping adventures, the only thing we could catch at the time was a squirrel or two."

"That's so sweet," Carol smiled over her shoulder as she opened the oven to check on the cooking chicken.

"Thank you, Patricia, so much for letting us into your house," Lori let out as the woman in question puttered around the kitchen, keeping an eye on the three women cooking. Airianna lifted her head when she heard a chair screech across the floor and watched as Maggie moved chairs to set up a larger dining room while she had a hushed conversation with her father. She hoped he wasn't chewing her out for that stunt she pulled with Glenn, the poor boy would die of embarrassment if her father knew he was sweet on her in any way, shape, or form.

She then glanced around the kitchen when she noticed another member of the group missing from the activity, "Where's Andrea?"

"Oh she's been up on the RV for the better part of the day," Carol informed her.

"Thought she was smart enough to pick up on other's moods," Airianna complained. "I'll go lasso her into helping us."

She placed the knife she was using down and whipped her hands on a towel offered to her by Beth before making her way swiftly from the kitchen, out the door, and towards the RV where she noticed Dale was making his way up to the blonde woman perched on the roof of the vehicle.

"What's with the Annie Oakley routine?" He posed to the rifle-wielding woman.

Airianna caught up to the man and stood next to him as Andrea lowered the gun to address the pair, "I don't want to wash clothes anymore, Dale. I want to help keep the camp safe," She spared a glance at the redheaded woman below, "Is that alright with you?" The man and woman didn't respond and she smugly turned back to face the fields towards the forest. Dale sighed and beckoned the fuming Dixon next to him to follow him into the RV, where both were greeted by Glenn nervously sitting at the small table with a book within his grasp.

"Sorry, just returning your book," He said to the older man.

"Oh no, I'm sorry," Dale replied. "If I had known the world was ending, I'd have brought better books." Glenn and Airianna let small bits of laughter out at his jest.

Glenn glanced around at the pair before his eyes finally settled on Airi, "Uh, do you think Andrea's on her period?"

She snorted, "Why would you think that?"

"I'm only asking 'cause it's like all the women, not you, of course, are acting really weird," She hmmed and signaled for him to continue. "And I read somewhere that when women spend a lot of time together, their cycles line up and they all get super crazy hormonal at the same time."

Before she could coffee insight Dale raised his hand, "I'm gonna advise you to keep that theory to yourself."

"Even though you are correct, Glenn," He smiled at the doctor's words.

"Yeah, you're right, Dale."

"Who else is acting weird?"

Glenn paused and sat down before he continued, "Maggie."

"Ah, Maggie," Dale repeated.

"She started off being mean to me. Then she wanted to have sex with me," Airi coughed as he finally confirmed her theory from a week ago. "And now she's being mean again. And I don't even want to know what's going on with Lori."

The redhead bit her lip, "What's going on with Lori?"

The Korean man swung his head towards her voice as if he didn't notice he let his words slip from his mouth, "Uh, nothing. I don't know."

Dale glanced between the pair, "All right, let's take this back a step. How do you know that Maggie wanted to have sex with you?" Glenn froze at his question and cringed as Airianna giggled, bitting his fist as the smile fell from Dale's face, "Oh, son you didn't. Did it ever occur to you how her father might feel about this?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "She's twenty-two."

"And he is our host," Dale rebuffed.

"He doesn't know."

Dale relaxed slightly, "Well see that it stays that way. Jesus, Glenn what were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that I might be dead tomorrow," As he finally admitted his line of thinking her rose to his feet and walked towards the exit of the RV. "Thanks for the book."

Airianna sighed and stepped out of the vehicle to follow after Glenn when Andrea's voice cried out, "Walker. Walker!" She followed the blonde's line of sight to the furthest field from the house and camp where a lone figure was limping out of the treeline.

Rick came sprinting over to the RV and stopped next to the redhead, "Just the one?" He called up to Andrea.

The blonde lifted Dale's binoculars and glanced through them, then dropped them to pick up her rifle instead, "I bet I can nail it from here," She replied a little too excited at the prospect to fire at the far off figure.

"No," Rick ordered. "No, Andrea, put the gun down."

She did as she was told, but shot the man a heated glare from her perch.

"You best let us handle this," Shane butted in as he, T-Dog, and Glenn approached with a variety of melee weapons. Airianna grimaced at the slightly sexist tones of the bald man, surely if she caught his meaning then the trigger happy blonde would as well.

"Shane, hold up," Rick interrupted the other man's movements. "Hershel wants to deal with walkers."

"What for, man? We've got it covered."

Shane led the other two men off towards the still limping figure approaching the camp, none of them sparing Rick another glance. He growled at his partner's stubbornness before he whipped out his Python and chased after them. Airianna paused as she watched Rick run after the group, but quickly rushed into the RV grabbing the crowbar nestled near the front seats before she sprinted after the flock of men. She quickly caught up to Rick and the others and the five of them slowed as they reached the edge of the field, all staring in confusion at the figure that still hadn't started to lunge at the humans in its line of sight.

As Airi tried to step closer T-Dog raised an arm to keep her back, but she still attempted to inch forwards while she squinted at the weak figure in front of them. As her brown eyes met piercing blue she sucked in a breath at the realization that this wasn't was walker, but her husband. Her heart clenched at the wound on his forehead slowly oozing blood along with the worrying clump of fabric pressed to his right side.

But while she was silently eyeing the man in front of them, Rick raised his gun. He paused however when the doctor cried out, "Rick no!"

His hesitation increased tenfold when Glenn muttered, "Is that Daryl?"

Silence fell over the six humans by the woods as they all looked at each other. Daryl had yet to say a word, but the burning gaze he directed at his wife solidified her belief that her husband was still sound of mind and body. She did note that he was having trouble standing and she hoped he had not lost too much blood from his apparent wounds.

"That's the third time you've pointed that thing at my head," Daryl spat out as he turned his gaze from his wife's worried face to the ex-sheriff's confused one. "You gonna pull the trigger or what?"

Rick breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his weapon, and T-Dog allowed Airianna to move around him to reach the wounded man. But right as Rick's gun was slipped back into its holster a shot ran out and Daryl crumpled to the ground.

"Daryl!" Airianna cried out as she ran to her husband, ignoring Rick's yells in the background.

She dropped to her knees when she reached his side and pushed her fingers to his neck, choking back a sob when she felt a pulse under them. She then lifted her hands to his head where a new wound was leaking more blood from his body, and thanked God he had only been grazed by the bullet aimed at him.

"You are so goddamn lucky, hon," She breathed out as Rick and Shane began to lift him and wrap his arms around their necks.

"Don't fuckin' feel like it," Daryl weakly slurred out. "I was kidding."

Rick nodded as he helped the man to his feet, "Come on."

The two men secured their grips on the hunter before they began to rush him back to the house. Glenn scooped up his forgotten crossbow and string of squirrels and rabbits while T-Dog helped a shaking Airianna off of the ground. Once he had righted the woman they dashed after them, slowing when an object fell from Daryl's belt. T-Dog bent to pick it up and the redhead widened her eyes when she noticed it was the doll Sophia had dropped days ago when they were tromping through the woods. She took the toy from T-Dog and he nodded at her as they continued their trek through the field.

They were almost to the fence when Andrea and Dale came running up to them frantically, "Oh my God! Oh my God, is he dead?"

"Unconscious," Rick stated. "You just grazed him."

Before Airi could chew into the blonde for her stupid decision Glenn cut in, "But what the hell happened to him? He's wearing ears." She glanced at his neck and slightly cringed at the walker ears hanging from a string over his shirt.

Rick eyed the rest of the group rushing towards them and ripped the offending object from the man's neck, tucking it into his shirt pocket, "Let's keep that to ourselves."

The two men then carried Daryl up to the house and into one of the upstairs bedrooms, allowing Airianna and Hershel free reign to identify and treat his wounds. Unlucky for them Daryl had awoken and when he noticed Hershel was moving to remove his shirt he lashed out and demanded only his wife treat his wounds, stating they were minor anyway. The three men reluctantly agreed and left the room so she could finally fix him up. She started by cleaning the two head wounds he had, placing gauze and medical tape over the shallow openings. She then silently motioned towards his torso, waiting for him to nod before she started to strip him.

"You know if you weren't injured this would be a lot more fun," She whispered as she tried to lighten the mood.

"Oh, I bet," Daryl scoffed at his wife's joking tone and sucked in a breath as she lifted his shirt and makeshift bandages off. She quietly apologized for the slight pain and started cleaning the entry and exit wounds in his side.

"Where'd you find Sophia's doll?"

He hissed out as she began to stitch up the wound, "I found it washed up on the creek bed. Must have dropped it when y'all were crossing there or something."

"She did," She confirmed as she steadily stiched his side closed. Once the holes were successfully sealed she wrapped his side tightly to help stem any bleeding. After she was fully satisfied she placed kisses near each of his injuries and smirked at his reddening face. She then rose from the bed and allowed him time to cover himself with the bedsheet before she opened the door to the two men waiting outside.

"How is he?" Rick asked.

Airi smiled at his concern, "He'll be just fine."

"I had no idea we'd be going through the antibiotics so quickly," Hershel muttered as he passed a bottle to the other doctor, waiting for her to reenter the room so he could follow her inside. Daryl tensed slightly as Hershel and Rick joined his wife in the room, but settled down as she sat on the bed next to him and passed him a glass of water along with a few pills for him to swallow.

"Any idea what happened to my horse?" The older man posed to the hunter.

Daryl raised his brow, "Yeah, the one that almost killed me? If it's smart, it left the country."

Hershel sighed at the man's response, "We call that one Nelly, as in nervous nelly. I could have told you she'd throw you if you bothered to ask," He glanced at the group's leader, "It's a wonder you people have survived this long."

"Well, I am certain my husband is very sorry Hershel," Airi said as she gave the man in question a pointed gaze.

Daryl rolled his eyes at her look, but stubbornly agreed, "Yeah, I'm sorry I guess."

"Are you coming down for dinner, Airi?" Rick lightly asked to steer the conversation in a different direction.

"No," She laced her fingers with Daryl's. "I'll stay and keep an eye on him. If you wouldn't mind bringing some up?" The man nodded and left the room with Hershel to allow the couple some privacy.

The next few minutes were spent in silence as they nestled together on the bed and listened to the sounds of people sitting at the tables downstairs. Daryl smiled as his wife wrapped her arm around his shoulders and let him lean his good side into her, and he tucked his right arm under her back. They relaxed and waited for some dinner and when a soft knock sounded on the door, Airi rose from the bed and opened it for the person outside. She smiled at Carol holding a dinner tray and Sophia standing behind her with Eren in her arms. She stepped out of the way so the mother could enter the room and opened her arms so Sophia could pass her son into them.

She watched as the other woman placed the food down on the bedside table and glanced at Daryl, "How are you feeling?"

Daryl shrugged his shoulders and gripped the bedsheet tighter around his body, "As good as I look," He glanced from the mother to her daughter, "I found Sophia's doll if she wants it."

The blonde girl rushed to the side of the bed, "You found her?" She jumped on her feet a little when Daryl pulled the doll from the other side of the bed and passed it to the girl, smirking as she squeed the toy tightly in her arms, "Thank you, thank you."

He glanced away when he felt Carol's eyes on him, "Whatever, just happened upon it."

Sophia continued to thank him until Carol suggested she head back downstairs and finish her dinner. She waited at the doorway until her daughter was out of sight to turn back to the injured man, "You need to know something. You did more for my little girl today than her own daddy ever did in his whole life."

He looked at the short-haired woman for a moment before glancing away once more, "I didn't do anything Rick or Shane wouldn't have done."

"I know. You're every bit as good as them," Carol gave him one more smile, shared a few small words with Airianna, and then followed her daughter back down to the dining room.

Daryl watched her leave and waited for Airianna to resituate herself in the bed before he grabbed the plates of food, passing one his wife and keeping one for himself. Airi nibbled on the food as she helped Eren eat the potatoes and green beans on the plate.

"You know something, Daryl?"

"Wha?" He muttered with a mouthful of food.

She chuckled at his stuffed face, "Just nice to know I'm not the only one who sees how great you can be."

He blushed and looked away, "Shut up, Annie."

"Better stop it with that childish nickname, Darylina."

He let out a groan, "God now you sound like fuckin' Merle."

The couple locked eyes and then broke out into uncontrollable laughter, savoring the nostalgia of their childhood names and the feeling of each other's presence.


	14. Chapter 14

Airianna watched from a distance as Andrea approached the tent Daryl was resting in. After he woke up early in the morning he insisted on leaving the Greene household, he despised being in the way of other people. So Rick helped her get him to their tent where he was now resting bored out of his mind with Eren sleeping in his cot across from his father. The watchful woman stepped closer to the tent to catch the conversation Andrea was trying to strike up with her husband.

She raised her brow as the blonde woman passed a copy of _The Case of The Missing Man_ over to Daryl, "What, no pictures?"

"I'm so sorry. I feel like shit," Andrea whispered, trying to keep her voice from waking the napping child.

He scoffed, "Yeah, you and me both."

"I don't expect you to forgive me. Hell, I definitely don't expect your wife to," She muttered as she took a glance at the said woman standing outside the tent near the RV as she eyed them both. "But if there's anything I can do…"

"You were trying to protect the group. We're good," She breathed a sigh of relief at Daryl's words and rose to leave the tent. "But hey," She paused. "Shoot me again, you best pray I'm dead." She smirked and nodded at his joking request before she wandered away from the tent and towards the steaming redhead.

"Hey, I don't know if you heard me talking to Daryl," Andrea started.

"I did."

"Oh, okay good," She awkwardly shifted her feet. "I am truly sorry Airianna. I didn't know it was Daryl."

Airi rubbed her forehead, "Andrea, I wouldn't blame you if you were just trying to protect the group."

"I was. I-"

"No," She interrupted the blonde. "You were trying to prove to Shane and Rick that you can handle yourself. They could've easily handled it by themselves, even if I hated the way Shane phrased it."

Andrea scoffed, "But I am sorry for accidentally shooting Daryl."

"Andrea, that's the point," She rebuffed. "It _wasn't _an accident. You knew what you were doing pulling that trigger, you know how loud a gunshot is, what it can attract." The blonde paled as she let Airi's words sink in and suddenly felt sick to her stomach. She caught sight of the nauseous look on Andrea's face, "Now I know you are truly sorry. For shooting Daryl and for putting the camp at risk due to your pride."

She then walked away and left Andrea to her own devices. She paused when she reached where Sophia was sitting by the cooking fire, fiddling with the bow and quiver the redhead had given her while watching Carl speak with Shane and ignoring the full plate of food by her feet.

"What's Carl doing?" The girl peered up at Airianna and smiled.

"Asking Shane if he can join the gun practice," She tightened her grip on the bow and frowned. "Mom won't let me go."

"Well then while she's at the practice I can show you how to use that," She pointed at the weapon in Sophia's arms. The twelve-year-old furrowed her brow in confusion.

"I thought Daryl was going to teach me?"

"He will," She confirmed. "But while he's resting and healing I can show you the basics. Daryl taught me when I was about your age."

Sophia's eyes widened, "Daryl taught you?"

"Yeah, I was twelve and he had just turned fourteen. He dragged me out to the middle of nowhere one weekend and made me learn," She laughed at the memory. "Worst weekend of my bloody life."

"Sounds like it wasn't that bad," The little girl said as she looked at the wistful gleam in the redhead's eyes.

"I guess not, but we'll get started after they leave. So finish eating your food, alright?" She rapidly nodded her head and dug into her meal. Airi smiled at the girl's enthusiasm and wandered off to the caravan of cars gearing up to leave for the training, pausing to stand next to Dale by the swinging bench. The older man smiled at her and she kindly returned it, then turned to watch as Shane walked up to Glenn a few feet away.

"You coming with us?"

The Korean man hesitated before responding, "I gotta help Dale...clean the spark plugs on the RV," The man in question scoffed at the younger man's blatant lie. "He said he's gonna teach me mechanics. I should probably go look for him."

"You found me," Glenn shot his head around and locked eyes with Dale and then Airianna next to him and gulped. "He's a good learner." Shane rolled his eyes and hopped into one of the cars getting ready to leave and Glenn's shoulders slumped as he relaxed. The three camp members waved off the cars driving to the far side of the property before Dale turned back to the sweating man, "Spark plugs, huh? Want to tell me what's going on?"

He glanced between the doctor and the older man, "You're old. You're...You know things," He said to Dale and then shifted his gaze to Airi. "And you're smart, really smart. So...what if somebody told you something that somebody else should know? Should you-"

"Glenn, stop being dramatic and spit it out," Dale insisted.

"There's...there's walkers in the barn and Lori's pregnant."

The pair stared shocked at the young man and he fidgeted under their gazes, "Okay," Airi began. "I'll let you and Dale square away the barn issue. I have to keep an eye on Sophia." Glenn shakily nodded his head. "But I will have a conversation with Lori when she gets back. Thank you for telling me about her condition."

She then stepped away to let Dale and Glenn speak about the nearby danger in private, and tried to ignore the urge to warn Daryl as well. Surely Hershel must have a logical reason, at least for him, to keep some of those monsters. Maybe they were family members and he couldn't let them go just yet? Or maybe the man had a few more screws loose than she thought. She pushed the thoughts and growing worries from her mind as she noticed Sophia walking up to her with her bow and quiver hanging off her shoulder.

She motioned for the girl to turn around and she relatched the strap on the quiver so it would be nice and tight against her back, "Lesson number one: A tight quiver means a faster draw." The girl nodded and rolled her shoulder to get used to the new feeling against her spine. Airianna then pulled the bow off her back and pointed to the loops of wire and the wheels on either side of the weapon, "The wheels are there to help disperse the pressure when you pull the string back. This little taped mark," She pointed out the raised point on the string. "Is the nocking point. That's where you will put the arrow."

She slowly nodded as she looked at each point the older woman had pointed to before pointing to the two ledges on the metal part of the bow, "What are these?"

"Those are your bow sights, helps you line up your aim. And the other is the arrow rest, helps keep the arrow on straight if you have a hard time holding it to fire," Sophia traced her hand on the rest, noticing the indent for an arrow to sit on so firing could be made simpler. "Now there is a large hay bale by the stables where we can start on some practice. Are you ready for that?"

She hummed in agreement and walked in step with Airianna as they wandered over to the stables. Airi waved at Dale as he wandered into where the horses' stalls were and she hoped he wouldn't stir up too much trouble. She and Sophia stopped in front of a pile of hay bales Maggie had set out the previous day and Airi roughly measured twenty feet away and motioned for the blonde girl to stand where she had measured.

"Alright, take a shot," Sophia bit her lip but listened to her teacher. With the bow in her left hand, she pulled an arrow from the quiver with her right. She carefully placed the end of the arrow on the taped part of the string and put the tip of it against the arrow rest. She then tightly grasped the plastic feathers on the edge of the arrow along with the string and pulled her arm back, trying to keep her wrist near her face. Before she let the arrow loose Airi stepped behind her and adjusted her arm placement, lowering her elbow to be parallel with her shoulder and pushing her wrist away from her cheek so only her thumb brushed against her face.

She then gestured for her to continue so Sophia straightened her back, took a deep breath, and let the arrow loose. The sharpened point flew through the air in a breathtaking arch and embedded itself into the haybale to the left of the center one. The blonde girl frowned at the egregiously off aim but paused when she heard clapping from behind her.

"Very good for a first try," Airianna said as she walked to retrieve the arrow.

"But I missed the target."

The woman shook her head, "You always miss on your first try, but you can always learn from your mistakes," She handed the arrow back to her. "What did you notice that you can change this time around?"

"Umm, oh! I should use the sights to help me aim," She smiled when her teacher nodded. "And...I need to keep my eyes open when I fire?"

"Good, you noticed that, and yes you do," She lightly grasped the bow and Sophia let her grip on it go, allowing Airi to pluck the arrow from her hands as well. "When you fire your eyes must be open or else your stance could shift by a little bit and you would never notice. Lesson number two: eyes open to aim and follow-through." She raised the bow herself, nocked the arrow, and let it loose in the span of a few seconds. Sophia watched in amazement as the arrow zoomed through the air and dug deep into the wooden wall slightly above the center hay bale, laughing as a small crack in the wood grew from the shot.

"That was amazing!"

"You'll be doing that by the time done if you follow the lessons," She passed the bow back to her and signaled for her to try again with a different arrow, the first one remaining in the wood as an example.

Time flew by quickly and the cars carrying the gun trainees returned. Carol hopped from the car and walked with Carl over to where her daughter stood with Airianna. She placed her hand on the boy's shoulder as she watched her little girl handle the heavy looking weapon.

"Now this time, tell me the lessons before you try again," Airianna pressed, ignoring the small audience they now had.

Sophia squared her shoulders, "Lesson one: A tight quiver means a faster draw," She swiftly whipped an arrow out with her hand. "Lesson two: Eyes open to aim and follow-through." She fully opened her eyelids, ignoring the harsh sunlight. "Lesson three: Square your feet and shoulders, but triangle your arm," She adjusted her posture and rested her thumb gently on her right cheek, keeping her elbow parallel. "And lesson four: Breathe and relax." She took a deep breath in and released her breath the same time she released her arrow. Carl and Carol watched in wonder as it sailed through the air and landed right below an arrow already planted in the wood of the stables.

Sophia sighed in relief at the near-perfect shot and Carl ran up to her, throwing his arms around her in a hug while proclaiming she was a fantastic shot. She blushed and thanked her friend as the two mothers watched the pair.

"That was wonderful, sweetie," Carol gave her daughter a gentle smile. "You've made great progress."

"Carol's right," Sophia and Carl glanced at the other woman. "Your aim has vastly improved. I'll have Daryl start you on moving targets soon enough." She walked to the wall and ripped the two arrows from their spots, handing them back to the blonde girl. Sophia smiled as she took them from Airianna.

"Thank you for teaching me, miss Airi," The redhead smiled at her.

"You're welcome, now I need to go have a chat with Lori real quick about some dinner plans," The girl nodded her head and stepped away from her teacher, allowing her to head back to camp.

As Airi approached the camp she watched as Dale cooked up some of the meat Daryl had brought back from his mostly failed hunting trip the day before, but a quick movement in the corner of her vision drew her eye. She watched as Lori walked past the fire, gagging at the scent of the cooking meat. Dale paused in his cooking as he worriedly gazed at the brunette, but continued his task when Airi waved him off and stepped towards Lori's hunched over form.

Lori forced a smile onto her face as she watched the redhead wander over to her, "You know, I had the weirdest cravings when I was pregnant with Eren. Drove Daryl up the wall when I would wake up at three in the morning wanting chocolate and hot sauce."

"Sounds odd," Lori muttered. "I liked honey and pickles with Carl."

"Oh yeah, it was," She sat down next to the nauseous woman. "But the thing that annoyed Daryl the most was how I was around cooking meat." She observed as Lori's face grew a grimace at her words. "One time, around Christmas, he and Merle brought home this huge buck to eat. And the moment they started cooking it, I blew chunks all over Merle. He chased me throughout the damn house until Daryl wrestled him to the ground and told him we were expecting." She laughed at her own anecdote, trying to lessen the tension she felt rolling off of the Grimes woman. "Wouldn't let me do a damn thing by myself after that. He moved in with us for a bit after Eren was born, even cleaned himself up. I was so proud of him, but I never told him. Didn't want to bruise his poor little ego."

Lori chuckled at her story, "Glenn told you?"

"What do you expect?" Airi asked. "He can't even play poker with a straight face."

The brunette nodded and clenched her hands together, "I haven't told Rick. I can't."

"Because of Shane?"

"Was it that obvious?" Lori hissed out as she shifted her eyes around the camp, hoping nobody else caught their conversation.

"No, I don't think anyone knew. But I know what I saw that night at the CDC," The pregnant woman flinched at the redhead's blunt words.

"Look, I thought my husband was dead," Lori defended. "And I felt like I died with him. And I...I wanted to feel something, anything. And now I hate myself for it."

"And the baby?"

"It's Rick's. None of the rest of it matters."

Airianna sighed, "Then what's your concern?"

"Memories are what keep me going now," She glanced away from the other woman's brown eyes. "Memories of what life used to be. And I have a deep well to draw on, I still remember joy." She sniffled. "But I think Carl's well is already running dry. And this baby...The baby won't have any good memories at all, only fear and pain."

"You can't think like that," Airi insisted. "We can still find joy and we can still take strength from each other."

She raised her brow at the doctor, "Do you really think this baby has a chance? That it could grow up and live a happy life? Look me in the eye and tell me that my baby will grow up to have kids of its own as we did." She waited for a response and when she got none she rose to her feet and started to walk away until a hand grasped her wrist.

She turned, "Your baby, Lori, has just as much of a chance as Eren does. And I will do everything in my power to keep them both safe if you let me."

"But that's not your decision to make is it?" With her final words, she ripped her wrist from the other woman's grip and stormed off. Airianna watched in defeat as Lori walked up to Glenn and exchanged quiet words, she only hoped she wouldn't make her choice by herself.

Airianna spent the rest of her day with Daryl and Eren, checking her husband's injuries. She kept her distance when Maggie went off on Lori, screaming about the risk they took to get morning-after pills for the pregnant woman. She shook her head, Maggie should not have flipped out about a supply run but Lori must know those pills won't do anything to stop the pregnancy at this point and it was dangerous to ask her and Glenn to get them.

But desperation makes fools of everyone.

She watched as Andrea and Shane returned from a supply run to a housing development near the town, listening closely as they explained the herd that had taken up residency there. The group collectively agreed to avoid the neighborhood from now on, and she paused as they dispersed when she noticed Rick flagging her down.

She passed her son to Daryl and walked towards their group leader, "Need something, Rick?"

"Did you know?"

She quirked her brows, "About Lori's pregnancy? Yes, found out today."

He rubbed his face, "Did you know she wanted to get rid of the baby?"

"Yes, but those pills wouldn't have worked anyway, she's at least a month along now," She frowned as he tensed at her words, but relaxed as he nodded his head in acceptance.

"Can you help us with it?" He asked. "The pregnancy, I mean."

She walked up to him and rested her hand on his arm, "Anything you need, I'll help with." He let out a sigh of relief at her promise and spared the doctor a warm, but tired smile.

"Glad to know you're straight with me. Thank you," She nodded at Rick and let her hand off of his arm before walking away. She tried to ignore the large feeling of guilt as she turned her eyes towards the barn.

Fuck, she wished Glenn was better at keeping secrets.


	15. Chapter 15

It felt almost normal that day sitting around the campfire eating breakfast altogether. Everyone sat around the campfire nibbling on the eggs and potatoes Carol and Lori had whipped up, simply enjoying the others' presence. As Airianna sat on the ground between Daryl's legs, carefully watching as Eren stuffed his face, she noticed there was one person who seemed to be having the worst morning ever.

Glenn.

The poor man stood away from the group while he glanced from Dale, who was shaking his head in a 'yes' formation, and Maggie, who was on the porch shaking her own head 'no'. She felt bad for him, but she figured he would give in and inform the others of the issue she had been sitting quietly on all night. While the peace was nice, it never truly lasted, and that fact was hammered in when the Korean man stepped up towards the group.

"Um, guys?" Most of the people eating glanced up at him. "So...The barn's full of walkers."

Everyone excluding Dale and Airi froze in shock at his statement. Rick, Shane, and Daryl lept to their feet and sprinted towards the offending building. The rest of the group rushed after them skidding to a stop when the trio slowly stepped closer to the sealed doors of the barn. Lori and Carol pushed their kids back and Airianna gripped Eren tighter to her body as Shane peered into the barn through a small gap between the doors.

He quietly stepped away from the doors and turned to Rick and hissed out, "You cannot tell me you're alright with this."

"No, I'm not," Rick said. "But we're guests here. This isn't our land."

Shane rolled his eyes, "This is our lives, man!"

"Lower your voice," Glenn whispered.

"We can't just sweep this under the rug," Andrea insisted.

"It ain't right," T-Dog chimed in. "Not remotely."

Shane paced in front of the group as he tried to process his thoughts, "Okay, we've either gotta go in there, we gotta make things right, or we just gotta go. Now we've been talking about Fort Benning for a long time now."

"We can't go," Rick forced out.

"Why, Rick? Why?"

The leader shifted his eyes around, trying to give a reason without outing his wife, "Because Carl and Daryl are still healing. And this is the best place we've had for a while." Rick turned towards their doctor and gave her a grateful smile.

"Okay," Shane huffed. "I know some may think this place is perfect, but _this_," He gestured to the barn. "Is proof enough that you're dead wrong and plain stupid if you think we're safe here."

"Hey, don't you talk to my wife like that," Daryl snarled as he rushed up to the offending man.

Shane chuckled, "I will say whatever I damn well please. She and everyone else here is wrapped up in fucking fantasy land."

"Like you're so fuckin' grounded in reality, yourself," The hunter scoffed.

"Yes I am, we only came here cause your wife was stupid enough to follow a girl, who was practically good as dead, into the damn forest!" Carol gasped and pulled Sophia closer when the bald man shouted.

"Shane," Rick snapped. "Shane stop!"

"No, let me tell you something else, man," He kept his eyes on the now pacing redneck, completely ignoring his partner. "Trying to save someone who won't survive is pointless. And Carl got shot because of this stupid search, and all she did was waste our time and resources trying to save more dead weight."

Daryl lunged at Shane, swinging his fists. The pair grasped onto each other and Rick and Glenn ran forward to separate the two from ripping each other apart. Glenn luckily pulled Daryl away and he began to calm when his wife stepped forward and placed a hand on his upper arm, but Rick struggled to hold back his old friend.

"Back off!" He ordered the other cop.

Lori walked up and put her hand on Shane's shoulder and he quickly jumped away as if she had burned him, "Keep your hands off me," He snarled before he turned to storm away from the group.

"Now, just let me talk to Hershel," Rick called after Shane. "Let me figure it out."

Shane paused and swung back around to face Rick, "What're you gonna figure out?" He strode towards the man like Daryl had done to him, but Lori once more stepped in his path. "Knock it off!"

"If we're gonna stay," Rick continued. "If we're gonna clear this barn, I have to talk to him. This is his land."

"Hershel sees those things as people, sick people," Dale spoke up. "His wife, his step-son."

"You knew?" Rick asked with slight hurt laced in his voice.

"Yesterday. I talked to Hershel."

"And you waited the night?" Shane glared at the older man.

"I thought we could survive one more night, we did," He defended. "I was waiting till this morning to say something, but Glenn wanted to be the one."

Shane scoffed at his reasoning, "The man is crazy, Rick. If Hershel thinks those things are alive or no!"

Rick stepped closer to the angered man to calm him down, but he and everyone else froze when the chains on the barn door started to shake as the walkers pushed against the door, desperate to reach the promising food source on the other side. The women, besides Airianna who was still behind her husband, pushed their children away from the danger while the rest of the group stood completely still, watching the doors with tense bodies. Daryl swung his arm around so his wife and son were closely nestled against his back, fully shielding them from the rattling doors. Rick signaled for the others behind him to slowly step away and they moved back until they were a safe enough distance from the threat.

Once they were far enough away to not hear the growls and rasps Airi finally added to the discussion, "I know you have issues with what I did Shane, and you're an asshole for having them, but Rick is right on this one."

"How can he possibly be right, the longer we wait the more we're in danger," Shane argued.

"If we go and clear the barn without Hershel's say so we will be forced out," She hissed. "We have children, responsibilities. We need a secure place, and I doubt Fort Benning is it."

The ex-cop burned his gaze into the petite woman, his nostrils flaring before he spat at the ground and finally rushed off. Daryl grumbled and started to walk after the disrespectful man, but stopped when Rick shook his head. He huffed and dragged his small family away from the dispersing group, but paused when Airianna passed Eren into his arms. He gave her a look, but when she shifted her eyes to where Rick was standing he nodded his head and let her go.

She smiled at the group leader, "You alright?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "Not sure how I'm going to talk to Hershel about this."

"Maybe I could go speak to Maggie?" She offered. "After the attack at the pharmacy, she may see this in a different light. Perhaps she could talk to her father?"

"Alright, but I will talk to him first. It's only right that I address the problem instead of him having to hear it from his daughter," The pair shook hands and then Rick strode off towards the main house and Airi waited until he had reached the porch before she started her trek towards the small fruit orchard where Maggie was speaking to Glenn. She snorted when the farmgirl took Glenn's hat, placed one of the eggs in it, and slammed the piece of clothing back on his head.

The man sighed as he cringed at the cold yolk running down his hair, "Why would you waste an egg like that?"

"I think it was rotten," Maggie turned and walked away, but paused as she caught sight of the redhead standing by the trees. "You need something Airianna?"

"Mad at Glenn?"

"Well," She shrugged. "I asked him not to tell and he did."

The woman nodded her head at the brunette, "Understandable, but we needed to know."

Maggie motioned for her to follow and they walked in step with each other, "I thought he was going to tell Rick, not spill to the whole group."

"I get that, and maybe he should've. But we know now and people are scared. Something has to be done," She insisted.

Maggie stopped her walking, "What do you expect me to do about it? It's not my decision."

"No, it's not," Airi agreed. "But your father respects your opinions and I know after what happened on the run you understand that they're not sick."

"It's just...He thinks my step-mom and Shawn will get better," Maggie sniffled a little. "I don't think he could handle it if they were dead this whole time, that we've been stuck in the past...just clinging to hope that isn't there."

Airianna sighed and wrapped her arm around the other woman's shoulders, "There's nothing wrong with having hope, you just have to hope for the things you have. Not the things that are lost."

The younger woman nodded and wiped the small tears from her eyes and gave a weak smile. She wrapped her arm around Airi's waist and led her back to the house. When they reached the porch and stepped inside they both noted the half-eaten plate of food and the open bible sitting on the dining room table. Maggie picked up the book, placing it back on the shelf and Airi scooped up the plate and gently set it in the fridge for it to be eaten later. She reveled lightly in the cool air flowing from the appliance before she shut the door to keep the temperature cold for the food.

She and Maggie then sat down on the couch in the sitting room, "I can wait for your father with you if you don't want to talk to him alone."

"Thank you," She smiled at the short-haired woman.

They then waited for Hershel to return, passing light conversation around. When Beth and Patricia came down the stairs they joined the two women sitting and listened as Maggie was sharing a story from her time in college.

"And then she fell straight through the glass table, our other roommate was so angry at her," Maggie regaled as she held in her laughter. "She chased us around the apartment and then she ran right into the wall and the TV broke as well."

Beth giggled, "She must have been steaming."

"Oh, she was," Maggie confirmed. "And that's why you don't drink near anything breakable."

The women laughed at the end of the story, but Airianna sobered a bit when Daryl stepped into the room with Eren on his hip, "There ya are. He's been asking for his momma."

"Oh, of course, he has. Come here, baby," She moved her hands in a grabbing sign and her husband carefully passed the toddler into his mother's arms. "Have you missed your mommy?"

"Yes," The Greene women 'awed' at the boy's quiet reply and smiled when he grabbed his mother's hair and began to chew on it.

"What is with his damn chewing?" Airi giggled at Daryl's gruff tone.

"It's just something all kids do," She rose to her feet and patted his back with her free arm. "Just love to put things in their mouths at this age. He'll grow out of it."

He sniffed, "Well, he better. Kept trying to gnaw on my vest."

While they were speaking Maggie got to her feet and wandered to the door. She paused when she noticed Glenn standing slightly away from the house, "I'm gonna go talk to Glenn again."

Airi nodded and watched her step out of the house before she motioned for Daryl to sit with her on the couch. She nestled into his side and passed Eren over to an excited Beth, who cooed at her child while she rubbed her husband's shoulder in an attempt to get him to relax. A sound from outside caught the ears of the people left inside the house and they shuffled out to the porch to see Shane striding up with a duffle bag full of the group's guns. Daryl and Airianna stepped off the porch as he got closer, Maggie and Glenn rose from their spot on the steps, while Sophia and Carl paused their game of checkers while their mothers watched the approaching man with apprehension. T-Dog and Andrea followed to catch up with Shane to bear witness to the commotion which they knew was about to ensue.

"Here we go," Daryl muttered as the man reached the porch. "What's all this?" He pointed to the gun bag.

Shane lifted a rifle towards him, "You with me, man?" Daryl hesitated before he grabbed the weapon from his hand. "Time to grow up. You got yours?" Andrea nodded her head at his question.

"Yeah, where's Dale?"

He passed another gun to T-Dog, "He's on his way."

The African American man raised his brows at Shane, "I thought we couldn't carry?"

"We can and we have to," He glared as he passed the doctor and she returned the look full force as she adjusted her grip on her child. "Look, it was one thing sitting around here picking daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe. But now we know it ain't." He walked up to Glenn, "How about you, man? You gonna protect yours?"

Glenn looked at Maggie before he too clutched the offered weapon, "Can you stop?" Maggie asked. "You do this, you hand out these guns, my dad will make you leave tonight."

"We have to stay, Shane," Carl said.

Lori walked up and placed a hand on her son's shoulder, "What is this?"

"We ain't going anywhere, okay?" Shane said as he addressed the group. "Now look, Herschel, he's just gotta understand. Okay? he...Well, he's gonna have to. Now we need to protect the people we care about. Am I right?" He kneeled in front of the boy and offered him a small handgun. "Now I want you to take this. You take it Carl, and you keep your mother and Sophia safe. You do whatever it takes. You know how. Go on, take the gun, and do it."

Lori shoved her son behind her back, "Rick said no guns. This is not your call. This is not your decision to make."

The two shared a look but before Shane could argue with the brunette T-Dog called out, "Oh shit!" The group followed his gaze and Airianna gasped when she saw Rick, Jimmy, and Hershel leading two walkers out of the woods on metal poles.

"What is that?" Shane muttered before he broke into a sprint with the rest of the group following after him. "What is that? What the hell you doing?!" He screamed as he ran through the fence gate and up to rick, who was struggling to hold onto one of the growling monsters.

"Shane, just back off," Rick yelled as he attempted to placate the man.

"Why do your people have guns?"

"Are you kidding me?" Shane yelled as he stared at the older man. "You see what they're holding onto?" He cried to the group as they reached the grassy area directly in front of the walker-filled barn.

"I see _who_ I'm holding onto."

Shane shook his head as he paced around the farmer, " No, man, you don't."

"Shane just let me do this and then we can talk," Rick pleaded.

"What you want to talk about, Rick? These things ain't sick, they're not people. They're dead! Ain't gonna feel nothing for them 'cause all they do is kill," He pointed at the restrained walkers. "These things right here. They're the things that killed Amy and Jim. They killed Otis. They're gonna kill all of us."

"Shane, shut up!" The other cop cried out.

Shane ignored Rick and took the safety off of his gun, "Hey, Hershel man, let me ask you something. Could a living, breathing person, could they walk away from this?" He fired three shots into the chest of the walker Hershel was holding. "That's three rounds in the chest. Could someone who's alive, could they just take that? Why is it still coming?"

He fired more shots into the same walker and Airianna stepped forward into his sights, "Shane, stop it!"

He glared at the woman, "That's its heart, its lungs. You tell me doc, why is it still coming?"

She flinched back as he emptied more of his clip into the same corpse, "Shane, that's enough!" Rick yelled.

"Yeah, you're right, man. That is enough," He strode up to the walker and landed a shot directly in its head, successfully killing the thing once and for all. As it fell to the ground Hershel joined it, kneeling in the grass in a deep trance.

"Enough risking our lives for weak people that wouldn't last a damn day without our help! Enough living next to a barn full of those things that are trying to kill us! Enough Rick, it ain't like it was before! Now, if y'all wanna live. If you wanna survive, you gotta fight for it! I'm talking about fighting! Right here, right now!" He turned away from the group and sprinted towards the barn doors.

Rick tried to go after him, but the walker he was holding impeded his movement. He turned to where Hershel knelt and rapidly moved his eyes between him and the shocked woman holding her son, "take the snare pole!" Rick begged. "Hershel!" He shouted, but the man didn't respond. "Hershel, take the snare pole!"

The older man simply continued to stare at the dead body in front of him.

"Hershel, listen to me, man, please," He cried as he heard Shane slamming his hand on the wooden doors. "Take it! Hershel! Take it!"

His cries were in vain as the group watched in shock as Shane lifted a pickax from the ground and started to slam it onto the chains holding the barn door shut.

"No, Shane! Don't so this, brother! Wait!"

Shane ignored the cries of Rick and the screaming from the others behind him and started to use the blunt end of the pickax to pry the locks off the doors.

"Don't do it!" Glenn screamed.

"Please!" Rick added as he helplessly watched his friend.

The locks were ripped off by the pickax and instead of continuing to slam on the chain he lifted the piece of wood holding the doors together off and tossed it to the side. The doors started to slowly swing open but stopped when the metal chain became tighter, allowing only a small space for the walkers to clamber out of. Everyone waited for one to emerge, but when they failed to Shane began to bash his hand on the doors to rile them up.

"Come on!" Shane shouted at the barn. "Come on, we're out here!"

"This is not the way!" Rick yelled over the sound of the others. "Please!"

Daryl rushed up to where Airianna stood next to Hershel and the dead walker and pushed her behind him and he cocked the gun in his hands and brought it up to his eyesight. The mother glanced behind her and watched as Carol and Lori pushed their own children behind them, and then turned back to watch Shane back away from the now open barn doors.

He aimed his gun at the doors and waited.

Growling was heard as the first batch of corpses started to make their way through the open gap between the doors, shuffling out one by one. Andrea sprinted up next to Shane, followed by T-Dog and Daryl. They all started to fire at the doors, aiming for the heads of each walker that stepped out of the barn. Airianna shook as she watched them take out each dead body that lumbered out and flinched at each gunshot that sounded through the farm, praying the noise didn't bring any more walkers their way. She gripped Eren tighter and stepped away slightly when he began to wail at the noise. She paused her backward movement when she reached Maggie and Glenn's sides.

Glenn glanced at his girlfriend, "Maggie?"

"It's okay," She said and watched as he rushed up to help the others take out the threats now coming their way. Maggie wrapped her hand in Airi's and they watched as Shane paused in his shooting and turned to Rick. They held their breaths but released them when he simply shot down the walker in Rick's grasp before once more returning to the walkers pouring from the barn.

Rick watched the massacre in silence until Carl ran from his mother's arms, "Stay back!" He cried over the sound of gunshots and the boy stopped in his tracks, quickly getting caught again by Lori. He turned back to the line of shooters and cried, "Stop!" His plea did nothing as they continued to put down each creature that lumbered out of the doors.

Suddenly the cacophony ended and Airi peered at Rick's disappointed face as he watched the group lower their weapons. Daryl glanced back and watched as his wife shuffled from Maggie's side and slowly towards him. He dropped his rifle and ran to her, pulling her into his arms as she attempted to stand straight. Not a single sound came from anyone as they all tried to sort through what just happened in front of their eyes.

Beth and Maggie rushed to their father's side, all three of them sobbing at the loss of their family members all over again.

Their sobs quieted as they caught another growl coming from the barn. The rest of their group waited as the sounds of the walker came closer to the door, but no one raised their weapons as it stumbled from the confines of the barn. While its clothes and body were decaying many still recognized the red flannel and bearded face slowly coming closer to them.

"It's Jim," Sophia wailed as she looked at the remains of the man who was so kind to her at the quarry.

Daryl frowned as he looked at the walker and tightened his grip on Airianna when he heard her wail at Sophia's sentence. She tried to pull away from her husband, but he instead pulled her to the ground and rubbed her back as her cries mixed with their son's.

Everyone watched frozen as their old friend slowly shuffled through the other bodies, never taking his frosted eyes off of the group as he growled and hissed. Rick sighed as he alone stepped forward, a sad but determined look on his face as he got closer to their past group member. He pulled his Python from his holster and raised it to aim at the man's head. He paused as he locked eyes with the dead man before he tightened his finger and pulled the trigger.

The bullet landed and Jim dropped to the ground, finally put to rest.


	16. Chapter 16

Crying was the only sound that echoed through the camp, but Airianna couldn't tell if it was her sobs, her son's, Sophia's, or the entire Greene family. Beth was curled into Jimmy, crying herself dry as she gazed at the pile of rotten bodies while Patricia stood behind them quietly crying at the horrible event. Maggie was trying to comfort her father, who still remained in a near-catatonic state kneeling by the walker Shane had dispatched of first.

Beth suddenly pushed herself away from Jimmy and ran towards the bodies.

"Wait," Rick said as he tried to grab the teenager, but she just jumped around his arm and continued.

She looked at the pile of bodies for a moment before she spotted a redheaded female underneath another body. She continued to sob as she pulled on the walker's arms to pull it off the pinned body and rolled the female onto her back.

She brushed the dead woman's hair away from her face as she whimpered, "Mom."

Beth was too consumed in her sorrow to notice the twitching of the body, but the doctor and her husband tensed. Daryl jumped away from Airianna and ripped Beth away from the body before the walker could grip onto the blonde girl. Beth screamed as her mother's body lunged up at her and Daryl. T-Dog ran forward at the girl's scream and held down the walker as Andrea followed, lifting the pickax Shane dropped and swinging it into the walker's head, killing Beth's mother all over again.

Hershel finally came out of his state and rushed towards Daryl, who passed the wailing girl to her father before stepping away. He rubbed her back as Patricia joined him and they, along with Glenn and Maggie, started to make their way back to the house.

Shane ran his hands over his face before going after the mourning family. Rick took off after him, and when Airianna went to follow a hand on her wrist stopped her. She looked back and her eyes softened at Sophia's shaking form. She bit her lip and gave the girl a small smile before pulling her into her arms as she shushed both her and Eren. She sniffled as her tears started to fade and she glanced around at the remaining members of the group. Daryl was standing near the pile of bodies with Andrea and T-Dog, talking about what to do with them. While Carl, Dale, Lori, and Carol remained where they were, speaking quietly with each other as Carol spared looks over to her daughter in the other woman's arms. She looked back down at Sophia and gently pulled the tearful girl away from her waist before walking her back towards her mother.

When they reached Carol and Lori her mother wrapped her arms around the girl and walked off towards the RV. She then rushed over to the house with Eren when she heard raised voices and paused when she saw Hershel yelling at Shane.

"I don't care what you believe! I was doing what I thought was right."

Rick stepped between the two, "Everybody just calm down."

"Get him off my land!" The farmer yelled while pointing at Shane.

"Please, no," Rick said, trying to diffuse the situation, but Shane stepped up to Hershel anyway.

"Let me tell you something-" Maggie stormed up and slapped the man across his face before he could reach her father.

"Don't you touch him!" Glenn jumped between the pair and pushed Shane away from his girlfriend, "Haven't you done enough?"

She then turned and led her sister inside, leaving her father on the porch, "I mean it, off my land." The onlookers watched silently as the older man and Glenn wandered into the house, leaving Rick and Airi alone with Shane.

"What are you doing?" Rick turned to his partner. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Daryl and Carl almost died here, 'cause she led us here," He pointed at the doctor, trying to pin the blame on someone else. "I did what I had to do to protect the camp."

"Sophia and I followed your tracks here, so it was you who led us to the farm Shane."

"Ah, but you see Carl got shot when we were looking for you," Shane argued.

"Carl got shot because of dumb luck and his own stubbornness," Airianna rebutted. "He wanted to stay and search with you both and you caved, so if you want to blame anyone for leading us to this farm, blame yourself. Not me, not Carl, and definitely not Sophia."

"Alright," Rick cut in. "It's not your fault, it's not the children's fault. We know this," Shane rolled his eyes at Rick. "But why would you do that Shane? He opened his home to us."

He shrugged his shoulders, "Put us all in danger. Man, he kept a barn full of walkers."

"So you just start an insurrection, hand out guns, and massacre his family?" Rick posed.

"His family's dead, Rick."

"Well, he didn't believe that," Airianna pointed out.

Rick nodded his head, "He thinks you just murdered them in cold blood."

"No, man, I don't care what he thinks."

"I was handling it, brother. I was handling it and you just-"

"You were out here wrangling walkers is what you were doing. You're just as delusional as that guy," Shane interrupted Rick. "You 'handling it', huh?"

The man then stormed off before Rick or Airianna could let out another word, and the pair watched as he wandered off. The woman let out a deep breath as he walked further from her and her son, sitting down on the porch steps. Rick turned to her with worry in his eyes, but she waved him off towards the others who were now moving the bodies from the area in front of the barn. She rested against the porch railing and gave her son a weak smile when he looked up at her. He squirmed out of her arms and clumsily walked around the porch leaning on the wall of the house as he glanced his big eyes around.

"Hey," She looked towards the gentle voice and watched Dale walk up to the house with Carl. "Lori wanted him to get some rest." She waved at the boy and he came to sit down next to her on the steps. Then Dale walked away leaving the mother with the two boys and her thoughts.

"Dad did the right thing," Carl said. "Shooting Jim."

"Doesn't make it any less sad, Carl."

He nodded, "Yeah, I know."

Silence rang and Airianna let her eyes slip shut. She knew that even though what Shane did was horrible, it was the right thing in the long run. But she would never admit it. He should have waited and convinced Hershel about their danger instead of shoving it in his face, now they not only made their host suffer but their group as well. Jim, she never thought she would see the man that doomed his own life to save her son again after they left him under that tree. Even though it should not surprise her that he turned up since he refused the gun they offered, he just wanted to pass in peace. But the guilt that bubbled to the surface, of leaving her son to go to Atlanta in the first place, of Jim getting hurt because she wasn't there, and now the guilt of causing pain to people who were so kind to her and her family.

"Hey, Airianna. You okay?" She cracked her eyes open and watched as Lori carefully approached her.

"Yeah," She sniffled and wiped her arm across her face. "I'm alright."

"Well, I was about to get the rest of us for the funeral if you want to start on over," She got up after Lori's suggestion and scooped Eren back into her arms.

Walking over to the three new dirt mounds she tried to keep her face calm, but when she caught sight of her husband she started tearing up again. Daryl took Eren from her arms and pulled her to his side as he stood next to Jim's grave. He then waited for the rest of the group to arrive and once everyone was there they stood together in silence before going their separate ways.

Daryl pulled her along to the far side of the pond on Hershel's property and paused near a small bush. He bent down and plucked a small Cherokee rose from the bush and passed it to Airianna, the corners of his mouth turning up when she smiled at her favorite flower.

"Thank you, hon. I needed this," She muttered.

"Yeah, I figured," He sniffed. "Last time you were this mopey was when your mom passed." She absently nodded as she traced her fingers over the rose's petals. "Come on."

He started to led his distracted wife away from the flower bush and back to the camp when Sophia came rushing towards them, "Miss Airi, momma's looking for you. Something's wrong with Beth!" The couple glanced at each other before Daryl shoved her towards the little girl and she followed her back to the house.

She was quickly led up the stairwell and into Beth's room, where Maggie was sitting by her bedside, "What's wrong with her?"

She walked to the teenager's side and checked her pulse and eye movement, "Most likely a state of shock. Where's your father?"

"I can't find him anywhere," She frowned at the brunette's words as she continued to assess Beth's condition.

"I'm going to go get an IV bag for her so she doesn't get dehydrated," Maggie nodded and led the doctor out of her sister's room toward the closet with the medical supplies. While she was grabbing the needed materials she paused when she heard movement in another room and glanced through the doorway to see Rick, Shane, Glenn, Lori, and Maggie looking at boxes full of dresses and other personal artifacts.

"Your stepmother's things?" Rick asked Maggie.

She nodded, "He was so sure she'd recover. They'd just pick up where they left off."

Shane picked up a silver flask from the dresser and waved it in his hand, "Looks like he found an old friend.'

"That belonged to my grandfather," Maggie explained. "Gave it to dad when he died."

Rick passed the flask to the girl, "I didn't take Hershel for a drinker."

"No, he gave it up on the day I was born," She placed the object back down. "He didn't even allow liquor in the house."

"What's the bar in town?"

"Hatlin's. He practically lived there in his drinking days," Rick walked up to Glenn.

"Then that's where I'll find him," The Korean man nodded in agreement.

"I've seen the place. I'll take you," He offered.

Rick patted Glenn's shoulder, "Alright, I'll get the truck."

Maggie stepped in front of Glenn before he could leave, "No."

He quirked his brow, "It's an easy run."

"Like the pharmacy?"

"Hey, Maggie," She turned to Rick. "I'll bring him back."

She huffed, but nodded her head and stepped out of the room, grabbing the medical items from Airianna's hands as she went back to Beth, "So you're seriously gonna go after this guy? With everything that's going on?" Airi cringed at Shane's annoying voice.

"He's right," Lori agreed. "Airianna's here, she's a doctor. We don't need Hershel."

"Hershel's her father," Airi cut in. "Now, I can fix her up physically all fine and dandy. But she's going to need her father here, if he doesn't come back she's never going to get over his death along with her mother's."

Rick gestured to the woman, "We owe it to Hershel after what we did." With his final words, he went down the stairs and out the door, Glenn shortly following after. Lori sighed and ran her hand over her face before going down the stairs and off into the kitchen. Airianna watched the couple go separate ways before she went into Beth's room to keep an eye on her condition.

Funny how when you think things are cooling off the other shoe has to drop.

She and Maggie sat by her sister's bed, keeping an eye on her and keeping her fever down until the doctor noticed the sun setting through the window. She shooed the short-haired woman off to get some dinner while she stayed with the younger girl. Once Maggie returned with food she went downstairs to get her own when she bumped into Carol.

"I'm sorry Airianna," She apologized. "Have you seen Lori?"

"Not since this afternoon, why?"

The grey-haired woman glanced around the house nervously, "No one's seen her, we're getting a bit worried."

"Have you asked Daryl yet?" Carol shook her head. "I'll go ask him, he's pretty observant about what people get up to in camp."

She walked out of the house and over to the camp, halting when she noticed her and Daryl's tent was no longer there. She swung her head around and stopped when she caught a small fire off in the distance near an old fireplace on the property. She jogged over and slowed to a stop when she saw Daryl sitting by the fire with Eren on a blanket next to him.

"Hey boys," She bent over to catch her breath. "What's with the sudden move?"

"Sick of the group takin' advantage of us," Her husband spat out as he flipped the rabbit cooking over the fire.

"What are you talking about, Daryl?"

"They always expectin' shit from us and givin' nothin' back," He bit out. "And Shane is crazy as all hell. I don't want you or Eren anywhere near his ass."

"Hon," She sat down next to him. "I'm a doctor, people will always need my help. They always have."

He scoffed and glanced away from his wife, "I guess. I kinda went off on the Sheriff's wife when she came to talk to me earlier."

"Lori was here? What happened?"

"Dumb bitch asked me to go to town and drag her husband back, I told her I was done being an errand boy," She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Daryl…"

"I know, I was a dick," He stubbornly admitted. "Just...You were with Beth, and I'm here watching Eren. And she just expects me to leave my wife and son to go save Rick's ass?" He flitted his eyes from his son to his wife. "Glenn went with him so I'm sure he's fine, don't know why she didn't just ask Shane to go save Rick."

"Cause Shane would've said no and kept a close eye on her," Airianna sighed and rose to her feet. "She probably went after Rick herself, all alone."

Daryl raised his brows, "She's dumber than I thought."

"I'll go tell the others," She paused before she walked away. "I love you, you and Eren mean so much to me. And I know you're hurting, she shouldn't have asked you to stick your neck out for her."

"Thanks, Annie," She laughed.

"Any time Darylina."

She laughed as she heard him grumble under his breath as she wandered back to the farmhouse. As she was making her way back she noticed the rest of the group was waiting on the porch, "Anything?" Carol asked.

"She asked Daryl to go into town and must have gone herself," Shane rubbed his hand over his head at the news and swore under his breath. Carl began to sob and grabbed Sophia's hand before walking back into the house.

"Did you know about this?" Shane asked Dale.

The older man shook his head, "No."

"Look, just...Did she take a gun?" Dale shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know," Shane sighed and started to walk to the cars. "I wouldn't let her go out there alone." The rest of the group watched as Shane jumped in a car and peeled out of the driveway, going after the pregnant woman.

Airianna sighed and watched as the group dispersed once again as they were forced to wait for Shane and Lori's return. She started to walk back to the separated campsite Daryl made when Carol placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "I'll go talk to him."

"Okay, but a fair warning in advance to not take what he says to heart," The grey-haired woman nodded her head and wandered to the far off campfire.

Airi rubbed her face and leaned against a tree near where Andrea and T-Dog were sitting as she waited for anyone to come back. Their group was spread thin and god forbid anything else go wrong. She wondered why Lori was stupid enough to go alone, she could of at least asked her. She would have not liked it, but she knew if Daryl was trapped somewhere she'd risk hell or high water to find him.

Luckily her wait was short as a few minutes later Shane's car pulled back onto the farm's dirt road. The people nearby the house ran to where the car was parking and she watched as Shane stepped out of the car.

The man rolled his eyes and reluctantly walked over to her, "Lori wasn't that far out. Her car crashed and I found her tryin' to walk to town," He glanced at the ground before looking back at the doctor. "Could you check her out, make sure everything's fine?"

She lightly nodded her head in agreement and then walked around to the passenger side of the car, opening the door to help the pregnant woman out of the seat.

Andrea approached the two women as the redhead helped Lori from the car, "Oh my God, are you alright? What happened?"

"I was in an accident," Lori shamefully admitted. "I'm fine, I'm fine."

"She was attacked," Shane said over her own words of reassurance.

"I'm really fine," She insisted as more of the group members tried to crowd her. "Where's Rick?" Airianna gave her a side glance as she tried to help her to the house. Obviously, Shane thought it was a great idea to lie to the brunette, "They're not back?" She glared at Shane. "Where are they?"

"Look I had to get you back here," Shane reasoned.

She ripped out of Airi's hold and stormed up to the man, "You asshole."

"Lori-"

She flung her hands at his chest, "He's my husband!"

"Lori! I will go after him. I will find him," Shane promised as he held back the angered woman. "Now, look first things first, I gotta look after you. I gotta make sure the baby's alright, okay?"

The doctor groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose when Shane let the knowledge of the baby slip out. Everyone stood and stared at the pair in silence until Carl spoke up, "You're having a baby? Why didn't you tell me?" Lori looked dumbfounded at her son, lost for words to explain.

"Come on," Airianna cut through the awkward silence. "Let's make sure you're alright." She carefully led the distressed woman away from the judging eyes of the group and up to the house. She set her down in the sitting room and began to check her for injuries as Andrea fetched her a glass of water.

"Thank you," The blonde shrugged her shoulders and took a seat in one of the armchairs next to the couch. The doctor continued to clean the small cuts on her face as Carl came in and sat by his mother. "Hey," Carl turned his head towards his mom. "I am so sorry that I left without telling you."

"It's okay," Carl said. "I wasn't scared. When's dad getting back?"

Lori sighed, "Let's hope soon."

"I wanna be there when you tell him about the baby," The boy insisted.

Lori smiled, "Oh, love, he already knows. We were just trying to find the right time to tell you."

"Is it a boy or a girl?"

Lori shrugged her shoulders, but paused when Airi spoke up, "Won't know until it's born, Carl."

"Will I be able to feel it?"

The doctor shook her head as she placed a few butterfly bandages onto Lori's face, "Not for a while."

"Must have a lot of questions, huh?" Lori asked and glanced at the other two women. "We never had the talk, guess we just forgot."

Carl looked to the doctor expectantly but she snorted and shook her head, "Don't look at me my guy, that's your father's job."

He frowned, but nodded his head, "If the baby's a girl, can I name her?"

Lori paused at his request, surprised he was handling the news so well. But she tensed when a voice came from behind her, "Hey, Carl. I'm sorry bud. I thought you knew," Shane walked around the couch to face the boy.

"Big brother Carl?" The kid tried the title on for size. "Pretty cool, huh?"

The ex-cop nodded, "I say that's very cool. You mind if I talk to your mom for a second?"

Airianna rose from her crouched position in front of the other mother, "How about a little later after she's had some rest?"

He scoffed, "Lori I had to get you back here, and you wouldn't have come otherwise." He frowned when Lori avoided his eye contact, "How about you just hear me out, please?"

She smiled at Carl, "Give us a minute, okay Carl?" The boy got up from the couch and Andrea led him from the room to give the pair more privacy. Airianna shot the smug man a dirty look before she too left the room and walked up the stairs to check up on Beth.

Maggie beamed at the doctor as she stepped in and shut the door behind her, "Hi, Airi. How are you doing?'

"Probably better than Lori right now," She glanced back at the door before going to check on the catatonic teenager.

"A lot of pain?'

"More like a lot of Shane," The short-haired girl snorted at her muttering.

"How about you go get some rest," Brown eyes met a near-matching pair, "I'm just saying, you've been running all day. You're practically dead on your feet."

The redhead reluctantly agreed and when she confirmed Beth's state was the same as earlier she allowed Maggie to lead her to another room in the house. She slumped down onto the neat double bed and as soon as her head hit the mattress she was out.

It was the sunlight peeking through the curtains and the sound of a car kicking up dirt in the road that roused her from her dreaming. She stumbled from the bed and flew down the stairs out the front door, pausing when she nearly collided with Carl and Sophia. The two gave sleepy smiles to her as they watched the station wagon pull up the road, beaming as they caught the sight of Hershel and Rick in the front seats.

Rick was the first one out of the car, and he was attacked by his son throwing himself into the man's arms. Rick held Carl tightly while he glanced around at the group and then back to the car, stepping forward a little to allow Lori into the group hug as well. Hershel carefully stepped out of the passenger seat with Glenn exiting from the door behind him. Maggie ran forward towards the two men, and Hershel straightened his back but slumped slightly when his daughter flung herself into the Korean man's arms.

He shook his head and made his way up to the porch, waving at Patricia and Airianna, "Patricia, prepare the shed for surgery."

Airianna furrowed her brows as the older woman rushed off to do as Hershel said. She walked past Sophia and over to the small group by the car, glancing at the returning trio for extensive injuries.

"Are you hurt?" Lori asked as she looked her husband over.

"No, but what happened to you?" He asked as he brushed his finger lightly over the bandages on her face.

"I was in a car accident," Lori shamefully explained.

"Accident? How?"

"I went looking for you."

"Snuck out on her own," Shane cut in. "I brought her back."

"Are you crazy?" Rick frowned. "You could've-"

"Who the hell is that?" T-Dog called out as he pointed to the back of the car. Airianna swung her head to the car and observed the young man passed out in the back of the car with a piece of cloth over his eyes.

Glenn sighed, "That's Randall."


	17. Chapter 17

The week had been hell, complete and utter shit.

After bringing back the injured teenager, Airianna and Hershel had done what they could to repair his leg. Luckily she had been able to repair his nerves so he would still be able to use the damn thing, but he would probably walk with a limp for the rest of his life. The group kept him in the shed as he healed, with the guys keeping constant guard over him like he was some sort of war criminal. Shane wanted to kill the young man to keep the farm safe, but Rick insisted on dropping him off away from the farm to give him a fighting chance. Sadly the boy was stupid enough to mention how he knew Maggie, which landed him back in the shed.

Now the group was divided over the fact of letting him go or ending his life. Airianna stood on the side of keeping him alive for the most part. While she knew he could pose a danger to the group, killing him would demoralize them. But letting him go could doom them later. She was one of the few that suggested keeping him in the group. He seemed like a good enough person, but he had fallen in with a nasty crowd.

It also didn't help that Beth was suicidal for the better part of the week. She and Maggie watched her around the clock to protect her. The doctor insisted Maggie should simply talk some sense into her but she wanted a gentler approach.

That gentle approach ended up being Andrea leaving her alone in the bathroom, giving the blonde an opportunity to break the mirror and slit her wrist.

She came crying to the female doctor, begging for her life. She stitched her up before leaving the sisters alone for their giant fight where they finally addressed the issues they were pushing away. They now were on good terms, but Maggie still held a great bit of hate toward Andrea, who believed her choice was the right one.

Ugh, just thinking about it was giving her a headache.

Now she was sitting outside by the small camp waiting with the others while Daryl had a 'conversation' with Randall. She hated that Daryl offered to interrogate the man, but she knew that he would feel responsible if anything else bad happened. She also knew that if Shane had gone in there, as he was the only other person to volunteer, Randall may just end up dead.

She brushed off her thoughts when she heard the familiar huffing of her husband, and turned around to face his approaching form. She frowned at his bloodied knuckles but pushed her worries down as Rick stepped towards him.

"Boy there's got a gang, thirty men," Daryl stopped next to his wife. "They have heavy artillery and they ain't lookin' to make friends. They roll through here, our boys are dead. And our women…" He glanced down at Airianna. "They're gonna wish they were."

Carol bit her lip, "What did you do?"

"Had a little chat," He brushed off her question.

Rick turned to address the group, "No one goes near this guy."

"Rick, what are you gonna do?" Lori asked.

The leader furrowed his brows, "We have no choice, he's a threat. We have to eliminate the threat."

Dale's eyes widened at his statement, "You're just gonna kill him?"

"It's settled," He replied. "I'll do it today."

Rick took a deep breath and walked away from the cluster of people. As Dale rushed after him, Airianna sighed and stepped off to follow the men.

"You don't want to do this. I know you don't," Dale called out as he and the doctor caught up to Rick.

"I thought about it all night," He reasoned. "Knowing what we know now, I don't see a way out of it."

Airianna shook her head as she walked next to the men, "But you can't just decide on your own to take someone's life."

"Thank you," Dale wheezed.

Rick shook his head, "The group seemed supportive."

"What because they didn't speak back?" The older man posed. "You didn't let them. There's gotta be a...a process."

"What would that be?" The ex-sheriff asked. "We can't call witnesses, go before a judge-"

Dale scoffed, "So he's automatically guilty by association and sentenced to death?"

"He's just a kid," Airianna added.

"Give us some time to talk to everyone," Dale pleaded.

"We can't, people are scared."

"Which is why they need time to discuss this, Rick," The doctor defended.

"No, no, they need to be safe. I owe them that," He shot back.

Dale huffed, "You think about your son, the message that you're giving him," His words made Rick pause. "Shoot first, think later? I asking for one day to talk to everybody. You can give me that. Think about Carl."

"I am," The father hissed. He sighed and closed his eyes. "We reconvene at sunset, then what happens happens." With his final say, Dale nodded and walked back to the group to begin his one-on-one conversations, but Airianna stayed back. "Something else you need to let out Airianna?"

"Rick, I'm a doctor," She whispered. "Hershel and I spent near ten hours saving that boy's life and now you're throwing it away? Yes, his group has done awful things, but does he look like the kind of person that could run away from or fight off thirty other men?"

He groaned at her reasoning, "Doesn't matter, he could find his group and tell them about us."

"So we execute him on conjecture?" She argued. "I made an oath to help and to heal. Now the rest of the world may be gone for good, but my words, my promises, are still here."

"I get that," He said. "But this is for the greater good."

"The greater good for who?" She pondered. "We would have to live with the guilt of murdering an innocent person, who was killed for things _others_ did. How would you feel if you and Shane shot up another group and Carol was captured and executed for something you two did?"

"That is not the same thing," Rick growled.

"It is the exact same thing, Rick!" She screamed back. "And I hope you can live with that, 'cause if you decide to let him die you better be dealing out the execution yourself. Don't you dare let that guilt be on any other person's head."

She stormed off, leaving Rick to his thoughts as she attempted to reign back in her anger. Airianna didn't even know where she was walking, and she didn't care in the least. She just continued on her path until a hand softly touched her arm. She swung around, ready to yell at the person intruding on her, but paused when she noticed Sophia's blonde hair and soft eyes.

The girl tugged on her arm, "I was going to practice with Daryl, do you want to come and watch?"

She gave the girl a small smile and allowed her to lead her back to the tent her husband still insisted on keeping separate from the group, but they both stopped in their tracks as they watched Dale walk up to Daryl as he stepped out of the tent. Airi quickly pushed the girl behind a tree and leaned her head slightly closer to catch the men's words.

Daryl rolled his eyes at the older man, "The whole point of me movin' out here was to get away from you people."

"Gonna take more than that, especially with your wife being who she is," He sniffed at Dale while counting the arrows he had spent the past week carving.

"She send you?'

"Airianna's not the only one that's concerned about you, your new role in the group," Dale said.

The hunter shrugged, "Oh man, I don't need my head shrunk. Get enough of that from Airi," He attached half of the new arrows onto the holster on his crossbow. "This group's broken. I'm better off fendin' for me and my own."

Dale quirked his brow, "You act like you don't care."

"Yeah, it's cause I don't," Sophia gripped the redhead's hand at his snarky comment.

"So live or die you don't care what happens to Randall?" The older man asked.

"Nope."

"Then why not stand with me, try to save the kid's life. If it really doesn't matter one way or another?"

Daryl scoffed, "Didn't peg you for a desperate son of a bitch."

"Your opinion makes a difference," The hunter turned and gave Dale a strange look.

"Man, ain't nobody in this group 'cept my wife and son lookin' at me for nothin'," He lifted his crossbow over his shoulder and started sorting out his small hunting bag.

"Sophia is," The mention of the little girl caused Daryl to tense. "Carol is, and I am. Right now. And you obviously have Rick's ear."

He turned and walked up close to Dale, "Rick just looks to Shane. Let him."

Dale caught his arm before he could wander off, "Torturing people? Planning an execution? That isn't you. You're a decent man. So is Rick. Shane...He's different."

"Why's that? Cause he killed Otis?" Airianna pulled Sophia closer and covered her ears so she couldn't catch the rest of the conversation.

"He tell you that?'

Daryl shook his head, "He told some story...How Otis covered him, saved his ass. But he showed up with the dead guy's gun," Dale froze at the other man's logic, at how easy it could have been to piece the truth together. "Rick ain't stupid. If he didn't figure that out, it's cause he didn't wanna. It's like I said, this group's broken."

Airianna waited until Dale had started to walk away until she made herself and Sophia known. Daryl stopped his movement when he noticed the two females walking towards him, noting the tired look on his wife and the sad one on Sophia.

"Do you really don't care about me and my mom?" The blonde girl sniffled. Daryl took a deep breath and knelt on the ground in front of her.

"No, I was just mad at Dale," Daryl denied. "Don't take kindly to people buttin' into my business."

"Okay," She muttered. "You promise?"

Daryl patted Sophia's back, "Yeah, now come on we gotta have ourselves a lesson, or do you want to go be a little housewife?"

"No," She giggled. "Last time I baked with mom I set the oven on fire."

The trio laughed lightly at her words, and Daryl rose to his feet to grab the other set of arrows he carved. He passed them to the girl and she smiled while putting them into her quiver. He walked up to Airi and gave her a tight hug, "Want to come with?" She nodded at his request and he ducked over to their tent to toss her his extra hunting knife.

"Wished you didn't lose my bow," She joked.

"That's was Merle's fault, not mine," Daryl argued. "Took it on a run with Glenn and broke it smashin' some dumb dead bitch."

She shoved his shoulder, "Language."

He rolled his eyes and motioned for his new hunting partners to follow him into the woods. Sophia tightly gripped her bow as she kept close to her teachers as they trekked deeper into the trees. The silence was peaceful, and she eyed the ground as they walked. She paused when Daryl pointed to small footprints in the dirt, slightly covered by a few dead leaves.

He crouched by the prints and gestured to them, "What you think Sophia?"

"A rabbit maybe?" She guessed.

"And why's that?" Airi softly asked.

The blonde girl pointed to the prints, "They're more narrow than a squirrel's footprint."

Daryl eyed the girl for a second before nodding and standing back up to follow the cotton-tailed creature. They continued for a few more minutes until the hunter lifted his hand, signaling for them to stop. In front of the three people was a small cluster of rabbits nibbling on a forest plant about fifteen feet away from them. Daryl glanced at the twelve-year-old and waited until she had lifted her bow so he could lift his crossbow. The pair quietly aimed at the small colony of rabbits, letting their arrows fly at nearly the same time. Daryl's made its mark in one of the rabbit's head, but Sophia's hit one of a rabbit's feet, pinning the creature to the forest floor.

Sophia grimaced as the soft creature squealed in pain, waiting for one of the adults to collect the poor thing. Airianna took pity on the girl and walked up to put the dying bunny out of its misery, grabbing Daryl's kill as well and tossing the pair into his hunting bag.

"It was a good shot," Daryl muttered as he grabbed the bag from his wife.

"I was aiming for its body," Sophia glumly said. "So it wouldn't hurt as much."

"Nah," Daryl huffed. "Rabbits are damn near impossible to catch when you first learnin'. You got some sort o' skill." The girl perked up at his slight encouragement and once again followed after him, lightly stepping in his own footprints to hide her own.

The trio continued for an hour or two, finding a few more rabbits and squirrels. Sophia was glancing around the trees when she saw something rush past in the distance, "Carl?"

Airianna turned her head, "What Sophia?"

"I saw Carl running through the trees," She muttered.

Daryl shifted his eyes to where she was looking, "Don't see nothing. You must be gettin' tired is all," He shrugged his shoulders as he turned back to the way they came from. "Might as well head on back, gotta go to that stupid meetin' anyway."

His wife nodded in agreement and she led the way back to camp. Once they passed through the trees Daryl dropped the bag of dead animals by the tent, "Sophia, you mind watchin' Eren while this happens?"

"Sure, where is he?"

"You're mother is watching him. Here," The redhead said as she passed the hunting knife back over to Daryl. "I'll take you to her so you and Carl can watch him in the RV."

She gave her husband a quick kiss on the cheek before she guided the girl to where Carol was sitting in the camp with Eren. The other mother passed the little boy over to her daughter and the adults waited until they had entered the RV before heading up to the house. As they ascended the steps they saw Lori herding Carl out of the house, ignoring his pleas to stay. They watched as the boy sadly made his way to the RV to join Sophia and Eren. Lori motioned them into the house and they joined the rest of the group settling down in the sitting room for the conversation.

Carol took a place near the wall to avoid attention while Airianna sat in one of the open seats near Glenn and Maggie, smiling at the couple as she joined them. Dale leaned up against the doorway leading to the kitchen and straightened his back when Daryl arrived, the final member of the group. He rolled his eyes at the older man's hopeful expression before standing right behind his wife's chair.

Glenn cleared his throat, "So how do we do this? Just take a vote?"

"Does it have to be unanimous?" Andrea added.

Lori shook her head, "How about majority rules?"

Rick stepped forward, "Now let's, let's just see where everybody stands then we can talk through the options."

"Well, where I sit," Shane spoke up. "There's only one way to move forward."

"Killing him, right?" Dale snapped. "I mean why bother to even take a vote? It's clear which way the wind's blowing."

"Well, if people believe we should spare him, I wanna know," Rick said.

"Well, I can tell you it's a small group," Dale sighed. "Maybe just me, Airianna, and Glenn." The man in question guiltily raised his eyes from the floor to meet Dale's, and the older man frowned in disappointment.

"Look, I think you're pretty much right about everything," Glenn said to him. "All the time, but this-"

"They've got you scared!" He argued back.

"He's not one of us. And we've lost too many people already," Glenn dejectedly pushed out.

"But that doesn't mean we should give up on him," The female Dixon added in. "Someone's life is in our hands, not a piece of trash to throw away."

Dale nodded and glanced at Maggie next to her boyfriend, "How about you? Do you agree with this?"

She looked at Rick, "Couldn't we continue keeping him prisoner?"

Daryl scoffed, "Just another mouth to feed." He grunted when his wife's elbow shoved into his gut and he gave the woman in front of him a dirty look.

"It may be a lean winter," Hershel added.

"We could ration better," Lori said.

"Well, he could be an asset," Dale included. "Give him a chance to prove himself."

"Put him to work?" Glenn suggested.

"We're not letting him walk around," Rick shot down.

Maggie shrugged her shoulders, "We could put an escort on him."

Shane snorted, "Who wants to volunteer for that duty?"

Dale raised his hand, "I will."

"I don't think any of us should be walking around with this guy."

"He's right," Lori agreed with her husband. "I wouldn't feel safe unless he was tied up."

Andrea rolled her eyes, "We can't exactly put chains around his ankles, and sentence him to hard labor."

"Look, say we let him join us, Right?" Shane theorized. "Maybe he's helpful. Maybe he's nice. We let our guard down and maybe he runs off, brings back his thirty men."

Airianna groaned, "that's a lot of 'maybes' Shane, how do we even know those men are still out there?" The bald man squared his jaw. "They could be long gone or dead by now."

"Not gonna take the chance," He bit back.

"So the answer is to kill him to prevent a crime he may never even attempt?" Dale hotly asked. "If we do this, we're saying there's no hope. Rule of law is dead. There is no civilization."

Shane shifted his feet in annoyance, "Oh my god…"

Hershel pondered the other elder's words, "Could you drive him further out? Leave him like you planned?"

Lori shook her head, "You barely came back this time."

"Sorry to say Lori, but I think you can thank Shane for that little mishap," Airi snorted.

"Why I oughta," He took a step towards the doctor, but Daryl jumped in front of her and Rick held up his hand at his partner.

"Shane…"

"We should not put our own people at risk," Glenn added to diffuse the situation.

"If you go through with it," Patricia spoke up from behind Hershel. "How would you do it? Would he suffer?"

Shane glanced from the older woman to Rick, "We could hang him, right? Just snap his neck."

"Not likely," The redhead argued. "Only a third of hanging victims die from their neck being snapped, the rest choke to death very slowly and painfully. Depending on the tightness of the noose they can last a while, gasping for breath."

"Airi's right," Rick muttered. "Shooting may be more humane."

"What about the body?" T-Dog asked. "Do we bury it or-"

"Hold on, hold on!" Dale cried. "You're talking about this like it's already decided."

"You've been talkin' all day, going around in circles," Daryl pointed out. "You just want to go around in circles again?"

"This is a young man's life!" The older man yelled. "And it is worth more than a five-minute conversation! Is this what it's come to? We kill someone because we can't decide what else to do with him? You _saved_ him and now look at us. He's been tortured, he's gonna be executed." Many in the group guiltily looked away from the man of reason. "How are we any different from those people that we are so afraid of?"

Silence fell over the group as they started to take in Dale's words, but Shane quickly cut in before the tone could change, "We all know what needs to be done."

Rick turned to his friend, "No, Dale is right. We can't leave any stone unturned here. We have a responsibility-"

"So what's the other solution?" Andrea cut in.

Lori frowned, "Let Rick finish."

"We haven't come up with a single viable option yet," The blonde complained. "I wish we could-"

"So let's work on it!" Dale said over the voices of the others.

"Stop it!" The arguing paused as gazes shifted over to Carol rubbing her forehead. "Just stop it. I'm sick of everybody arguing and fighting. I didn't ask for this. You can't ask us to decide something like this. Please decide," She gestured to Rick and Shane. "Either of you, both of you. But leave me out."

"Not speaking out or killing him yourself...There's no difference," Dale declared.

Rick raised his hand, "Alright, that's enough. Anybody that wants the floor before we make a final decision has the chance."

The group waited in silence, looking down at the ground or away to avoid the eye contact of the bigger debaters in the room. Dale looked beseechingly to each person, but he only got angry or guilty looks in return until he turned to Airianna. She sighed and rose to her feet, surprising some in the group.

"'We have nothing to fear, but fear itself,' Franklin Roosevelt," She started.

The bald man across from her scoffed, "Don't need no history lesson right now."

"Shut up, Shane," She glared at the man until he leaned back against the wall. "Now history or not, it's important. We are so wrapped up in the 'what ifs' and the 'maybes' that we are forgetting that Randall is a human being that has not done anything wrong to us except defend himself." She began. "I told Rick earlier that if he decides to kill the man then he should pull the trigger, but that goes for everyone else." Some of the group looked at her in confusion. "If you agree to let this man die then you shall bear witness to it. I'm sorry Carol, but you can't pretend it isn't happening. If you vote for his death then you should have enough in you to watch the thing you chose."

"That's barbaric," Lori spat out. "Why would you even suggest that?"

"You all were just discussing how to execute him, but I tell you to watch it and that's horrible? People have watched executions for hundreds of years. The French Revolution, the Salem Witch Trials, and let's not forget all those lynchings that happened during the civil rights movement."

"I'm not going to force people to watch," Rick argued.

The doctor quirked her brows, "Then they won't learn that their actions have consequences. This is life or death, not picking out a pair of pants or what to eat for dinner."

"So what? You'll go watch if we decide to kill him?" Shane pondered.

She nodded her head, "Even though I don't agree with it, yes. He deserves to see one kind face, and after I helped save his life I feel responsible to be there if someone wants to snuff it out."

She retook her seat as she left her final promise hanging in the air. She tried her hardest and if everyone still picked the wrong decision at least now she knew the guilt would follow them always. Dale glanced around at the depressed looks on the other's faces and stepped up to Rick.

"You once said that we don't kill the living."

Rick locked eyes with the older man, "Well, that was before the living tried to kill us."

"But don't you see? If we do this, the people that we were...The world that we knew is dead. And this world is ugly. It's...harsh. It's...It's survival of the fittest," He stuttered out. "And that's a world I don't want to live in. And I don't believe any of you do. I can't."

Still, the rest of the group remained silent.

"Please," He pleaded. "Let's just do what's right. Isn't there anybody else who's gonna stand with me and Airianna?"

"He's right," Andrea let out after a moment. "We should try to find another way."

"Anybody else?" Rick asked.

"I'm with Airi and the old man on this one," Daryl let out, surprising most of the group.

Dale waited for anybody else to chip in, but was sadly proven wrong as the rest of them remained quiet.

"Y'all gonna watch like Airi said you should," He tearfully asked. "No, you'll go hide your heads in your tents and try to forget that we're slaughtering a human being." He gave a weak sigh. "I won't be a party to it." He started for the door, but paused to gaze at Daryl, "This group _is _broken."

Then the left the room, slamming the front door behind him.

Airianna waited in the barn a little bit later with Daryl by her side as they waited for Shane and Rick to return with Randall. As much as she hated the choice the group made she would stand by her word and be there for the young man. And sadly, as Dale predicted, most of the group stayed far away from the barn after the vote was taken, in denial of their own choices. Daryl, however, had insisted she didn't have to be alone in her conviction and walked to the barn with her. She held her hand while they waited and she silently thanked him by squeezing his fingers.

She watched as Randall entered the barn with the other men and paled when he realized why he had been dragged from the shed, "Hold on," He begged. "Hold on, hold on!"

No one said a word as Shane dragged him further into the wooden building.

"Wait...Wait!"

"Put him there," Rick motioned to the center of the barn, near where Daryl and Airianna were standing.

Shane placed Randall where he had instructed and tightly held him in place while he withdrew a blindfold from his pocket and began to wrap it around his eyes.

"It's all gonna be over soon," Shane assured the boy.

"What? What's gonna be over soon?" He squeaked as his eyesight was taken from him.

"Relax."

"Hey! Hey, no, no, no, no."

The man shushed him, trying to keep the prisoner from crying. But Randall began to sob as he was left standing in front of the two men fated to end his life. Daryl gripped his wife's hand tighter when he caught the sorrow etched on her face as she watched the desperate man.

"Would you like to stand or kneel?" Rick asked.

The boy cried harder, "Oh no, please…" He didn't get an answer out as Shane shoved him to the ground. He continued to wail as Shane and Rick shared a look, the former nodding at the later. Daryl tried to hold Airi back, but she gave him a soft look that had him releasing her from his grip. She carefully stepped forward but paused when Rick held his hand up to her.

The ex-sheriff glanced at the sobbing man, "Do you have any final words?"

"No. Please, please don't," Randall sobbed out.

Rick steeled his face, attempting to appear uncaring and stoic. But Airi saw through his cracks and knew he was beginning to doubt the decision they made. The need to do the right thing warring with his urge to protect the ones he cared about and the snake whispering in his ear did little to help clear the matter.

He raised his Python and pulled back the hammer, pausing as Randall tears increased at the sound of the gun click. Rick hesitated as he watched the man cry.

"Wait, wait! I want to talk to her," Randall cried out. "The nice doctor, I know...I know she's here. I saw her, please."

Shane sighed when he saw Rick pull back the gun, "Can't do that man."

"Yes," Rick said. "We can." He motioned for Airi to move towards Randall and she carefully stepped closer.

"Are you here?' He weakly asked while blindly turning his head.

"Yes Randall, I'm here," She softly whispered and gave a somber smile as the boy's shoulders relaxed slightly.

"I'm...I'm scared, I don't want to die."

"I know," She reassured. "I'm sorry this is happening, hon." Shane scoffed in the background at her niceties.

"You...You sound like my mom, you know? Kinda look like her too, not really but you have that smile that a mom has," He rambled as he tried to slow his tears. "I...I miss her."

"I miss my mom, too," She whispered back.

"Do you think...will I see her?" He asked as he choked back a sob.

Before she could answer Shane shoved her away from the scared boy and addressed Rick, "This has gone on long enough, he's stalling."

Rick reluctantly nodded his head and once more raised his gun to the boy's forehead. Randall sobs increased again as he felt the gun against his temple. He slipped his finger to the trigger and began to tighten it when a voice rang out from the entrance of the barn.

"Do it, dad."

Arianna spun around to not only see Carl standing in the doorway but Sophia as well. Both watching the group expectantly to see what they would do next.

"Do it," He encouraged his father again.

Rick gulped as he shifted his gaze from the children and the prisoner.

He looked at Shane pleadingly and the man strode over to the two children, grabbing both of them by their arm, "Are you kidding me? What are you both doing out here?"

Rick focused on Randall, but Airianna noticed how his arm began to shake and he dropped it to his side, unclicking the gun, "Take him away," he muttered as he guiltily looked away.

Daryl rolled his eyes but gripped the arm of the boy tight to drag him from the barn, his wife silently following after him. Randall stumbled as he was taken from the barn and tried to stem his tears and shed the fear hanging over him. Airianna heard Shane storm from the barn, obviously enraged his plan was falling apart because the children slipped past their mothers.

Daryl was latching the door to the shed shut when the pair heard a wail echo through the air. They shared a fearful look before sprinting off. As they continued to run towards the sound of the cries Airi noticed a dead cow lying on the grass, its stomach ripped apart. She picked up her pace as the screaming turned from ones of fear into ones of pain, praying they would get there in time to help. She skidded to a stop when she saw Dale in the distance pinned down by a walker and started to sob as Daryl ran over and flung the monster off of the older man, slamming his knife into the creature's head.

Airi rushed to their friend when the threat had been dealt with but gagged at the sight before her. His stomach had been completely eviscerated by the corpse and his entrails poured from his body. She pushed her feelings of disgust down and grasped the moaning man's hand, lacing her fingers with his trembling ones.

Daryl paused at the horrifying sight, but turned and started to wave the rest of the group members down when they came running into the field, "Help, over here!"

"Where?" Andrea yelled back. He picked up a bloody flashlight from the ground Dale must have carried and clicked it on, waving it to alert the group of their location, "Come on, run!" He looked back down at his wife and Dale, "Hang in there, buddy."

"Who is it?" The blonde woman asked as she, Rick, and Shane quickly approached.

"Oh my god…" Rick whispered as he observed the carnage.

He dropped to the ground next to Airi and gently cupped the man's face, turning his head so he was facing up towards him, "Alright, just listen to my voice. Listen to me, alright?" He shot his eyes to the wound and looked back at the older man. "Just listen to me. Okay, hold on now," He raised his head slightly when the rest of the group came running up, "Get Hershel! He needs blood, he and Airi need to operate now."

Andrea sobbed as she looked down at her father figure, "Hang on, Dale. Hang on."

Dale laid there helplessly as he continued to moan in pain, staring up into the middle distance as more people began to crowd around him. He lightly squeezed Airianna's fingers and she gave the poor man a weak smile. She tried to hold in her tears, but they poured out of her eyes silently as she brought her free hand up to stroke Dale's hair softly. She knew there was no recovery from this, even if they did operate and get his body back in one piece. The fever from the bite would still kill him.

"Listen to me, okay?" Rick said as he tried to get the injured man's attention, but Dale's eyes only moved to stare at the weeping woman by his side. "Listen to my voice, alright?" He swung his head around to face the onlookers once more. "Please, Hershel! We need Hershel!"

"Look at me," Andrea pleaded as she crouch on the other side of the man.

"Dale, we're gonna help. We're here. Just hold on. Please, hold on."

"What happened?" Hershel called out as he and his family finally reached the mass of people.

Maggie gasped, "What can we do?"

"Dale, it's gonna be okay," Glenn said to reassure the man as he joined Andrea by his side.

"Can we move him?"

Hershel glanced at the man's injuries and the dejected look on the other doctor's face, "He won't make the trip."

"You two have to do the operation here then," Rick argued. "Glenn, get back to the house."

"Rick," Hershel tried, but the man continued to ignore the older man behind him.

"No!" The leader shouted desperately as he watched the man in front of him get weaker.

"Oh God," Andrea wailed.

Airianna kept her eyes on Dale's as she continued to offer the man silent comfort through the other people's cries and conversations, and her tears fell harder when she noticed Dale nodding his head as he moaned and gurgled in pain.

"Rick," She whispered.

"No, no."

"Rick," She pressed. "He's in pain."

"He's suffering," Andrea cried. "Do something!"

The man squeezed his eyes shut before he shakingly withdrew his Python from its holster, aiming at Dale's head as he struggled to keep his arm from twitching. He paused as he stared down at his friend, who finally moved his eyes away from the doctor and towards him, and froze. Daryl, watching this happen, placed his hand over Rick's and moved the gun down slightly. He slipped the gun from Rick's slackened grip and bent down next to his wife, aiming the gun at Dale. The older man gave him a weak smile as he once more gasped in pain.

"Sorry, brother," Daryl muttered as he clicked the gun's safety.

Dale gave a slight nod of his head and tightened his grip on Airianna's hand one last time before the shot rang out into the night.


	18. Chapter 18

"Dale could...Could get under your skin. He sure got under mine, Because he wasn't afraid to say exactly what he thought, how he felt."

Being a doctor, losing people was a daily occurrence sometimes back when the world made sense. Try as hard as you could you couldn't avoid death.

"That kind of honesty is rare and brave. Whenever I'd make a decision, I'd look at Dale. He'd be looking back at me with that look he had. We've all seen it one time or another. I couldn't always read him, but he could read us. He saw people for who they were. He knew things about us...The truth, who we really are."

And death was even more common now. The old world was dead, the dead walked the Earth, and people passed constantly from bites, injuries, illnesses.

"In the end, he was talking about losing our humanity. He said this group was broken. The best way to honor him is to unbreak it. Set aside our differences and pull together, stop feeling sorry for ourselves and take control of our lives, our safety...our future."

So why was it so hard for the doctor to listen to Rick's words? To sit through another funeral of a dear friend, to offer words of sadness and regret. Maybe because the day before everyone only held contempt for the man they lost, and now the guilt is what drew them together.

Guilt and shame.

"We're not broken, and we're gonna prove him wrong. From now on we're gonna do it his way. _That_ is how we honor Dale."

She looked away from the eyes she felt on her, avoiding the gazes of the group. She knew Rick's speech was not for everyone, but just for her. She had warned him of going down the path of violence and now they were paying the price.

She just wished it hadn't been Dale who was the cost.

Daryl led her away from the fresh grave, keeping an arm tightly around her and the other carrying their sleeping child. He guided her to the camp and set her down in a lawn chair by the firepit. He offered Eren to her and frowned slightly when she turned away from her son but brushed the decision off as grief. Daryl watched as Rick, Herschel, and Shane approached, tuning into their conversation.

"It'll be tight with seventeen people in the house," Rick said as he glanced around at the members of the group packing up the camp to set up for the move. He frowned when he caught sight of Daryl standing with Eren next to Airianna, who seemed to be deeply lost in thought.

"Don't worry about that," Hershel replied. "With the swamp hardening, the creek drying up…"

"With fifty head of cattle on the property, we might as well be ringing the damn dinner bell," Maggie added as she walked up to the men.

"She's right," Her father agreed. "We should've moved you in awhile ago."

Rick nodded, "Alright, let's move the vehicles near each of the doors facing out towards the road. Build a lookout in the windmill and another in the barn loft. That should give us sightlines on both sides of the property." Rick waved down T-Dog as he was unlatching a tent from the ground, "T-Dog, you take the perimeter around the house. Keep track of everyone coming and going."

"What about standing guard?" T-Dog wondered.

"I need you and Daryl on double duty."

"Gotcha."

"I'll stock the basement with food and water, enough that we can all survive a few days if need be," Hershel added as he passed the men carrying a box of supplies from the old picnic table.

"What about patrols?" Andrea asked.

"Let's get this area locked down first," Rick answered. "After that, Shane'll assign shifts while me and Daryl take Randall offsite and cut him loose."

Shane scoffed, "we're back to that now?"

"It was the right plan first time around. Poor execution," Rick weakly explained.

"That's a slight understatement."

"You don't agree, but this is what's happening. Swallow it. Move on."

Shane glanced at the leader, "You know that Dale's death and the prisoner...That's two separate things, right?" Rick eyed the man challenging his authority and shook his head. Shane huffed but looked away from the other man. "You wanna take Daryl as your wingman, be my guest."

"Thank you."

"You got it."

Daryl rolled his eyes at the small pissing match. He wondered if he was the only one who noticed how unstable Shane was. Maybe not since Hershel was watching the two closely as well. A point made clear as the older man walked up to Rick as the leader was trying to step closer to Airianna's still form.

"I can see why you're not taking Shane with you," Hershel started. "Just know, I've got no patience where he's concerned."

"He's turning over a new leaf," Rick reasoned.

Daryl gave him a disbelieving look and he held back a snort. Rick may be naive about what the asshole had done to Otis, but surely he had seen how he treated the rest of the people around camp. How he treated his wife, the best doctor they had. How he had treated Dale, the most humane of them all. He, for one, knew Shane was practically incapable of 'turning a new leaf.' He snake would bide his time until he could strike again.

Rick waved down another member of the group to change the subject, "Andrea!" The blonde turned around. "While I'm out with Daryl, help Hershel keep an eye on things around here."

"Me?"

He nodded, "Shane's got a way of letting things get out of hand, especially when he's all torqued up."

"I think we're all torqued up at this point," She pointed out.

"If you're staying here permanently," Hershel added, "He's gotta understand that it's what Rick and I say, not whatever he wants."

Rick tilted his head in agreement, "You've become close."

Andrea paused, starting to get what Rick was aiming at, "We talk," She slowly admitted.

"Then you know he's not a bad guy. He's just his own worst enemy."

She scoffed, "You want me to babysit Shane?"

"Look, I need to make sure every time I leave the farm, all hell doesn't break loose," Rick said.

"Then maybe you should stop leaving," The blonde suggested. "Or have someone better watch him. I've seen Airi and him butt heads before, but he listens to her too."

Daryl growled at the woman's idea, "Girl, you must be real stupid then."

She glared at the Dixon, "Why do you think that, Daryl?"

"Daryl's saying that because Shane thinks I am useless," Airianna muttered, surprising the group. "And maybe he's right."

"You're a skilled healer," Hershel said in a soft tone. "You are one of our most valuable assets."

Rick sighed and glanced at Andrea, "Will you keep an eye on things?"

"Of course," She agreed as she spared a worried look to the doctor before heading up to the house to help the others unpack.

Rick waited until Andrea was out of hearing range to crouch down to meet Airianna's eye level and Herschel stepped away to give the couple a Rick some privacy. The woman flitted her eyes up to meet his before turning them back towards the ground.

"I'm sorry Airianna," She furrowed her brows at Rick's words. "What happened to Dale wasn't your fault."

"Rick I wonder how you can be so observant sometimes," She muttered. "And naive the rest."

"I guess I'm just human."

"Look, I don't blame myself for Dale dying, a walker got him," The redhead pointed out. "I blame myself for him being out there alone, maybe if I was with him, if I wasn't at the barn, or even if our debate had gone differently."

"You wanted to be with Randall," Daryl added. "Just the kind of person you are, you care. Dale understood that and he respected it."

"I feel guilty too," Rick admitted. "Maybe I should've listened more when you and Dale were talking. Maybe I should've been listening to you from the get-go. But we can't change the past, only the present." He offered a hand to the woman and she lightly grasped it, allowing him to pull her to her feet, "There we go, now do you feel up to helping out with the house?"

She chuckled, "Yeah I can do that Rick," She motioned to her husband. "Come on, pass Eren over, you have work to do too." Daryl gently lifted their sleeping son out of his arms and into hers, smiling when she scooped up the toddler and wandered to the house with him.

She smiled at Lori and Hershel on the porch as she stepped into the house to begin sorting all of the supplies out. She sat with Carol in the kitchen as they started to place the food items the group had into the different cabinets while Sophia sat at the dining room table with Eren. She paused in her work when Beth and Patricia wandered into the kitchen.

"Hey, Airianna," Beth beamed as she picked up a can of fruit. "Patricia and I talked, and we want you, Daryl, and Eren to take our room."

"Oh I wouldn't want to impose," She said to the blondes.

"Nonsense," Patricia brushed off. "Lori, Rick, and Carl are taking Herhsel's room. Only right for the families to have their own rooms."

"Well, might be better in case Eren wakes up in the middle of the night," She conceded.

Beth nodded her head, "Perfect, you guys can move your stuff up whenever."

The four women continued to unpack the edible supplies, sharing small conversation until Carol passed a bag to Airianna, "That's supplies for Randall, would you mind taking it to Rick and Daryl before they leave?"

"Yeah, Carol. You finish up in here," The grey-haired woman rolled her eyes as she shooed the Dixon woman out of the kitchen.

Airi stepped out onto the porch and walked over to the truck where Daryl, T-Dog, and Rick were placing a small number of supplies in the bed of the truck, "Got the food for our 'guest.'"

Daryl snorted at the finger quotes she used, "Thanks."

"Is that everything?" She asked.

"Looks about right," T-Dog answered with a nod. "Oh, wait…" He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small handgun, Dale's gun. He lifted it and offered it to her husband, "You only have so many arrows."

"That Dale's gun?" Daryl hesitantly asked as he grabbed the gun.

T-Dog nodded as he walked back to the tailgate, "Yeah."

Daryl nodded in thanks as he slipped it into the waistband of his jeans, "Wish I knew where the hell mine is."

"The one you keep in the bag on the bike?" Airi asked.

"Yeah, you borrow it?'

She shook her head, "No, but I'll keep an eye out for it. Maybe it got mixed up with the rest of our things." The hunter absently acknowledged his wife as Rick walked over to the driver-side door.

"Ready?" The leader called.

Daryl shrugged his shoulders and slammed the tailgate closed. He spared his wife a wave as he walked around to the other side of the truck.

"I'll get the package," T-Dog offered.

"Thanks."

T-Dog waved his hand and started toward the shed to collect Randall.

Airianna made her way back inside after watching T-Dog leave and assisted Hershel and Glenn with setting up sleeping bags in each room for the group members. She then moved her and Daryl's bags up the stairs but paused in her work when she heard T-Dog yelling from outside. She sprinted down the stairs and out to the porch.

Rick frowned as the African American man came running back to the truck, "What's wrong?" He asked worriedly.

"It's Randall," He wheezed. "He's gone, man."

The redhead furrowed her brows, "What?"

"How?" Daryl snapped.

"I dunno, The door was chained and locked."

The group of four shared a look before rushing to the shed. Daryl threw open the unlocked door and tromped in, glaring at the empty spot where he put Randall the previous night. Rick moved his eyes around the shed, looking for ways of escape, and frowned when the walls seemed completely intact. They all exited the building and looked around, hoping to see the man limping in the distance as the rest of the group came running towards them.

"What's wrong?" Lori asked.

"Randall's missing," Daryl explained.

"Missing? How?"

"How long's he been gone?" Hershel asked Rick.

"It's hard to say," T-Dog replied as Rick kept his eye on the shed door, glaring at the lock.

"The cuffs are still hooked. He must've slipped them," Rick said as he addressed the group.

"Is that possible?" Carol pondered.

"It's possible if you've got nothing to lose," Andrea pointed out.

"Yeah, except he would've run off with two dislocated thumbs," Airianna added.

Hershel eyed the door Rick was still turning back to, "The door was secured from the outside."

"What about the way Carl slipped in?" Sophia asked.

"Nah," Daryl disagreed. 'Sealed that up this morning."

"Rick! _Rick_!"

Everyone shot their heads towards the sound of Shane screaming and Airianna grimaced at the sight of his extremely beat-up face.

Lori gasped as he stormed up to them, "What happened?"

"He's armed! He's got my gun!"

"I'm fine. The little bastard just snuck up on me. Clocked me in the face."

Airianna raised her brow in slight disbelief at his story. He was a big guy, and Randall was half-starved and still recovering from a leg injury. Even if the boy had someone been able to sneak up on a trained cop, which was doubtful, there was no way he could have done such extensive damage to his face with a punch alone. Shane's nose was most definitely broken along with other cuts donning his face. If she was betting money she would guess he ran into a wall or a tree of some sort instead of getting punched.

Rick, turned back to the group, "alright, Herschel, T-Dog, get everybody back in the house. Airi, Glenn, Daryl, come with us."

"T, I'm gonna need that gun," Shane said, giving the man a small smirk as he passed his handgun over.

"Hold up," Daryl called out to Rick. "Why's my wife comin'?"

"Just let him go," Carol suggested. "That was the plan, wasn't it? To just let him go?"

"The plan was to cut him loose far away from here, not on our front step with a gun," Rick said. "And Airi's a doctor. She said herself Randall must have dislocated his hand to slip out so he may need medical attention, plus it helps she knows how to track." Daryl scoffed but said no more words of disagreement with the leader.

Shane started off back towards the woods with Rick, Daryl, and Glenn following right after him. Airianna paused as Sophia offered the woman her quiver and bow, smiling at the little girl as she strapped the items onto her back.

"Don't go out there!" Carol pleaded at the doctor. "Y'all know what can happen."

"Get everybody back to the house," Rick called back over his shoulder. "Lock the doors and stay put!"

"We'll be back soon," Airianna assured the scared mother. "Can you and Sophia watch Eren?" The mother and daughter nodded at their friend and watched as she rushed after the men stepping into the tree line.

Shane led them out about a mile or so, and Airi kept her eyes to the ground trying to pick up some sort of trail Randall could have made. She bit her lip as they continued further into the woods, fearing for the safety of their group.

"I saw him head up through the trees that way before I blacked out," Shane informed them as he pointed slightly east. "I'm not sure how long."

"He couldn't have gotten far," Rick said. "He's hobbled, exhausted…"

"And armed," Glenn added.

"Can't fire with no working thumbs," Airi muttered to the Korean man.

Rick gave the worried man a look of reassurance, "So are we," He turned to Daryl, "Can you track him?"

"No, I don't see nothin'." He said as he surveyed the ground around them.

"Hey, look, there ain't no use tracking him, okay? He went that way," Shane insisted. "We just need to pair up. We spread out. We just chase him down. That's it."

"Kid weighs a buck twenty-five soakin' wet. You tryin' to tell us he got the drop on you?" Daryl suspiciously asked the injured man.

"I say a rock pretty much evens those odds, wouldn't you?" Shane smoothly replied.

"A rock?' Airi questioned with light amusement. "Would think you would have more bruising and fewer cuts on your face then."

"Okay, alright, knock it off," Rick scolded. He patted Daryl's shoulder as he pointed to the right of the clearing they were in, "You and Glenn start heading up the right flank. Me and Shane will take the left." He looked between the doctor and Shane before gesturing back the way they came, "Airi you head back to the farm in case Randall doubled back."

"Wouldn't it be easier if the doc went straight instead? Cover more area?"

Daryl growled at Shane, "Not a chance in hell."

"Daryl's right. She'll be safer if she heads back and keeps an eye on the farm with T-Dog," Rick agreed. "If Randall's hurt we'll bring him back and you can patch him up."

Shane glowered at the female and Rick but held his tongue. Airi narrowed her eyes as she caught the bloodied man's gaze, "You sure you want me heading back?'

"I'm sure," Rick said with added weight to get his point across. He locked eyes with the redhead and she caught onto his silent message. She then reluctantly tilted her head in agreement and Rick ushed her back the way they came, "Remember, Randall's not the only threat out there. Keep an eye out."

Everyone nodded as they made their way in the directions they were given. Airianna followed the path they made into the forest back to the farm and reached the treeline close to sunset, running through the fields and up to the house where she caught her breath on the porch.

Lori flung the front door open when she noticed the woman hunched over outside, "Are you okay? Where's everybody else?"

"They're on the way," She promised. "Rick just send me ahead in case Randall doubled back."

Maggie came out and offer and hand to the panting woman, helping her into the house and to the dining room. She placed the tired mother into the chair and grabbed a glass of water.

"Thanks, Maggie," She muttered as she sipped the cool liquid.

"You're welcome, Sophia and Eren are in the kitchen if you need them."

She smiled at the woman and after she drank her full she rose to return Sophia's bow but paused when she heard a gunshot echo through the air. She walked over to the window and watched as Daryl and Glenn came running into the living room.

"Rick and Shane ain't back?' Daryl asked when he noticed their absence.

"No," Lori answered.

Airi stepped closer to the pair, "We heard a shot."

"Maybe they found Randall."

Her husband shook his head, "We found him."

"Is he back in the shed?" Maggie asked.

"He's a walker."

"Did you find the walker that bit him?" Hershel wondered.

"No, the weird thing is, he wasn't bit," Glenn replied.

Daryl nodded, "His neck was broke."

"So he fought back," Patricia guessed.

"The thing is, Shane and Randall's tracks were right on top of each other," Daryl muttered. "And Shane ain't no tracker, so he didn't come up behind him. No, they were together."

"Randall didn't escape, did he?" Airi frowned as Daryl grimaced at her theory.

Lori brushed the doctor's comment aside, "Would you please get back out there and find Rick and Shane, and find out what on Earth is going on?"

"You got it," Glenn reassured.

"Thank you."

Daryl and Glenn walked back out of the house with Airianna and Andrea following after them. The two women were about to step off the porch to follow after the men when they spotted something from the edge of the property. Airianna squinted her eyes and gasped at the sight lumbering towards the farm.

It was the largest walker herd she had seen since Atlanta, and it was making its way directly to them.

She jumped from the porch and caught up to the men, gripping their arms and motioning to the distance where they both noticed the walkers shuffling towards the house.

"Holy shit…" Daryl whispered.

Glenn gasped at the threat heading their way before he snapped out of it and turned back to Andrea, "Get the others."

The blonde dumbly nodded and rushed back into the house, returning less than a moment later with the rest of the group. The women gasped at the sight before them while them men seemed as shocked as Glenn was when he saw it. Herschel shoved his way to the front of the crowd and Lori ran back into the house, most likely to find Carl.

"Patricia, kill the lights," Hershel order quietly.

"I'll get the guns," Andrea said as she followed the other blonde back inside.

"Maybe their just passing, like the herd on the highway," Glenn offered hopefully. "Should we just go back inside?"

"Not unless there's a tunnel downstairs I don't know about," Daryl scoffed. " A herd that size would rip the house down."

"Daryl's right," Airi agreed. "Besides we barely survived the herd from the highway. This one is twice its size."

"Carl's gone," Lori yelled as she ran back out to the porch.

The redhead turned to Lori, "What?"

"H-he was upstairs. I can't find him anywhere."

"Maybe he's hiding?" Glenn offered.

"He's supposed to be upstairs. I'm not leaving without my boy."

"We're not," Carol assured her, ushering her back to the house. "We're gonna look again. We're gonna find him."

Andrea came back with the duffle bag full of guns, passing them out to the group as she passed each person. Airianna grabbed one of the shotguns and passed it to Maggie who began to swiftly load it to the surprise of Glenn.

"Maggie?"

"You grow up country, you learn a thing or two," She brushed off as she expertly handled the weapon.

"I got the number," Daryl cut in as everyone grabbed a firearm. "It's no use."

"You can go if you want," Hershel suggested.

"You gonna take them all on?"

"We have guns. We have cars."

"Kill as many as we can, and we'll use the cars to lead the rest of them off the farm," Andrea thought out loud.

"Are you serious?" Daryl asked.

"This is my farm," Hershel replied as he cocked a rifle. "I'll die here."

"All right," Daryl sniffed. "It's as good a night as any."

Airianna slipped one of the handguns into her waistband and turned to Daryl, "I'm going to grab supplies with Lori and Carol."

Daryl gave her a small nod before he jumped onto his bike and followed the rest of the members of the group in the cars as they made their way to the fence the walkers were closest to. Airi ran into the house and assisted in helping the rest of the group load up the two cars left.

Beth peeked her head out a window, "The barn's on fire."

"Might be Rick and Shane," Airi muttered as she ran to the door with a box full of canned food.

"They're heading for it," Patricia pointed out. "Maybe they set it to draw them in."

Lori ran down the stairs, "I can't find him anywhere."

"So maybe he snuck outside," Carol suggested.

"What do I do?" Lori cried.

"He was here," Carol calmly said. "He must have run off, maybe looking for Rick."

"Or went after Randall himself," Airi added.

"Maybe he set the fire."

Lori softly cried at the thought of her son being alone outside with all the chaos and Carol sat her down of the couch to help calm her down. Airianna stopped Sophia as she came running down the stairs with Eren and pulled something from a backpack sitting on the dining room table.

"What's this?" The girl asked as Airianna began to attach it to her body.

"It's Eren's carrier, you just hook him to the front of it," She said as she slipped the boy into the contraption. She then passed the bow and arrows back to their owner. "You keep these on hand, do not let them go. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, miss Airi," She smiled and ruffled the girl's hair before she picked up the box she left on the ground and ran to the station wagon with it, tossing it into the trunk. She spared a look at the fence and frowned as she saw the walkers breaking the wood and ran back to the house when she watched the RV become overrun, cringing as she heard Jimmy's cry echo through the air.

She called out to Lori and Carol and they ran from the house to the porch, all of them pausing at the horrors, "I checked the shed and he's not there," Lori spewed out.

"He's not in the cellar or the attic," Carol added.

"Why can't he just listen for once? Okay, okay, if he followed his daddy he went that way." She pointed out towards the flaming barn.

She started to rush off the porch when Airianna jumped in front of her, "No, you'll lead them right to him. We can't stay here!"

"But that's my boy!"

Carol patted her back, "you're gonna have to trust. If we find him he's gonna need his mother. We've gotta go!"

Lori stayed rooted in her stop and Airi turned to Carol, "Get everyone now." The grey-haired woman nodded her head and ran back to collect the rest of the group still inside the house.

"Carl!"

Airi and Lori both raised their guns as they started to shoot the walkers lumbering close to the house as the rest of the women and Sophia ran out of the house carrying whatever bags they could in their arms. The doctor motioned for Lori to follow after them to the cars still by the side of the house and glanced at Hershel, who was still rooted in his spot shooting down the corpses shuffling to his house.

"Hershel! Come on! It's time to go, Hershel!"

He ignored the woman and she instead ran to catch up with the rest of the women running to the cars. She had just jumped off the porch when she saw a walker grab onto Patricia and rip into her neck. Beth screamed as her aunt was attacked and tried to free her arm from the older woman's grip, but she couldn't. Airi ran up to the pair and gripped Patricia's hand to unlatch it from the teenager's arm as Lori pulled on Beth to get her out of harm's way. They were lucky to pull Beth away and the trio continued to run to the cars as they sobbed at the sound of Patricia's painful wails. They quickly reached the truck T-Dog and Andrea were in when more screams caught Airi's ear and she paled as Carol, Sophia, and Eren were cut off from the car by a small group of walkers.

"Get Carol and Sophia!" Lori begged as she and Beth were ushered into the truck's cab. Andrea ran after the Peletier females, shooting down the walkers in her way.

Airianna watched as she fought her way over, but gasped as Sophia paused when she ran out of arrows to fire, "Run Sophia! Run!" The girl shot her eyes to the redhead and sobbed, but listened. She wrenched her hand from her frozen mother's grip and sprinted off towards the stables, keeping Eren close to her chest as she ran.

Airi hopped into the back of the truck and flung her backpack to the floor, standing as she watched Andrea reach Carol before a walker fell on top of her.

"They got her!" Beth sobbed as she watched from inside the truck.

"We gotta go!" T-Dog yelled back at the doctor and sped off right as walkers began to descend upon the sides of the truck, trying to grab at the woman in the back.

Airianna tried to catch of glimpse of Carol and Sophia as they drove away from the carnage, but all she could see was Carol's retreating form as she rushed off the way her daughter ran. She slumped to the floor of the truck bed and let out a shaky gasp, she left her son and friends behind. God, was Daryl alright? Did he even make it out of there at all? She prayed someone got to the children before they were lost, but her tears would not stop no matter how hard she tried.

She barely paid attention as T-Dog continued to drive, just silently listened to Beth's hushed crying. She wiped her eyes and turned herself to the glass separating her from the other three when Lori spoke up.

"Hey, we gotta turn around."

"Straight back to that herd?" T-Dog asked with disbelief. "Um, no."

"The highway's back there," Lori argued. "That's where they'll be. Rick will go back to where we first broke down."

T-Dog shook his head, "We're heading east, get to the coast. We should have done that from the jump. Look we have a shot to get out of here in once piece."

"I gotta find Carl. He may have escaped with somebody."

"I hate to say it, but they're on their own," He snapped. "There's no way to even begin to start looking."

"Hey," Airi called through the glass. "We begin at the highway. That's our group, our family."

"You're wrong," Lori said to the scared man.

"Look, we can't go back. I'm sorry, it's suicide."

"Alright," Lori conceded. "Then let me out." She opened the passenger door, ready to jump from the moving car, and T-Dog scrambled to brake the truck. Airianna grunted as she lurched around in the bed of the truck from the sudden stop.

"Hey, whoa!" T-Dog yelled.

"You turn around, or you let us out right now," Lori insisted.

"I should do it, you know?" The man cried exasperatedly. "You're out of your damn minds," He muttered as he put the truck into reverse and turned back to drive towards the highway.

They drove a little longer and Airianna caught sight of a light green car ahead of them. She waved when she noticed Gleen's tired form in the driver's seat and relaxed even more when she heard the telltale sounds of Daryl's bike somewhere ahead of their current position. She pointed the noise out to T-Dog and he followed Glenn's car to the highway car pileup where they made out the bike and the station wagon parked to the side.

As soon as the truck was parked she lept from the back and ran to the bike, sobbing when she caught sight of Daryl standing near Rick, Carl, and Hershel. She stumbled into his arms and cried even more as he tightened his grip on her and buried his head into her neck. She gently rubbed his back when she felt tears on her neck and shoulder, but pulled away when a hand tugged on the back of her jacket. She spun around and beamed at an exhausted Sophia.

The girl gave her a weak smile as she loosened her arms from Eren's fidgeting form, waiting for the mother to unlatch her son from her torso before wrapping them around Airianna's waist instead, "I ran like you told me to."

"I am so proud of you, hon," She whispered into the girl's hair and watched over her head as Rick clasped hands with Daryl.

"Where'd you find everyone?" Rick asked Daryl.

"Well, this guy's lights were zigzaggin' all over the road. Figured he had to be Asian, drivin' like that," he jokingly said as he nodded to Glenn.

Glenn chuckled, "Good one."

"Where's the rest of us?" Maggie wondered.

Airianna looked around and frowned when she noticed the people that were missing: Shane, Patricia, Jimmy, Andrea, Carol. She knew for certain two of the five had gotten overrun on the farm, but she bit her lip as she thought of the rest.

"We're the only ones who made it so far," Rick said.

"Shane?" Lori asked hopefully.

Rick's shoulders tensed and he shook his head.

"Andrea?" Glenn asked.

"She ran after Sophia and Carol," Airianna answered. "Then I lost her."

"We saw her go down," T-Dog added.

"Patricia?" Hershel asked.

"They got her too," Beth sobbed next to him. "Took her right in front of me. I was...I was holding on to her daddy. She just…" Hershel hugged her closer to him. "What about Jimmy? Did you see Jimmy?"

"He was in the RV. It got overrun," Rick muttered.

Beth gave another sob as she turned to her father's chest. Airianna felt Sophia's arms tighten around her more and she looked down at her, "What about Carol?"

"Daryl tried to grab both of us," Sophia whimpered. "But mom was already bit, so she shoved me on the bike...And...And we left her there." She pushed out before wailing into the side of the redhead. The mother gasped at the orphan and softly rubbed her back with her free hand.

"You definitely saw Andrea?" Glenn asked, trying to change the subject.

"There were walkers everywhere," Lori replied.

"Did you see her?" He repeated.

No one responded to him, but Daryl stepped forward, "I'm gonna go back."

"No," Rick ordered.

"We can't just leave her."

"We don't even know if she's there," Lori added.

"She isn't there. She isn't," Rick insisted. "She's somewhere else, or she's dead. There's no way to find her."

Glenn quirked his brow, "So we're not even gonna look for her?"

"We gotta keep moving. There have been walkers crawling all over here."

T-Dog perked up, "I say head east."

Daryl nodded, "Stay off the main roads. The bigger the road, the more walkers, more assholes like this one," He pointed to a walker shuffling towards them. "I got him." He raised his crossbow and took out the monster silently.

The group decided to take the station wagon and the green car, leaving the truck behind as it was already low on gas. Daryl and Airianna chose to stay on the bike and she insisted Sophia and Eren stay with Lori and Carl in the station wagon. As the group piled into the cars she and Daryl moved the small amount of supplies she was able to store in the truck into the trunks of the other cars. She gave Sophia a small smile when she sat down in the trunk of the station wagon with Eren, claiming the rest of the car was too cramped. The small cluster of vehicles then drove off, leaving the last remains of the farm behind.

She and Daryl led the small group as they traveled down the roads, both sitting in silence as the cold wind whipped against them. It was sometime in late September or early October maybe, judging by the sudden change in temperature. How odd that the world was normal in May but now it had completely turned upside down, leaving small groups of survivors like them the only normal people left.

Daryl slowed to a stop when one of the cars behind them honked, and helped Airi off of the bike as the rest of the group clambered out of the cars. Sophia was instantly by the couple's side, rocking Eren in her arms as napped.

"You out?" Daryl asked Rick as the leader walked up to him.

"Running on fumes."

"We can't stay here," Maggie said.

Glenn shook his head, "We can't all fit in one car."

Rick nodded in agreement, "We'll make a run for some gas in the morning."

"Spend the night here?" Sophia asked.

"I'm freezing," Carl whimpered.

Lori rubbed her son's back, "We'll build a fire, yeah?" Carl nodded and smiled when his dad gave him his coat to warm up with.

"You go out lookin' for firewood, stay close," Daryl pointed out as he picked up his crossbow. "Only got so many arrows. How you doin' on ammo?"

"Not enough," Rick replied.

Maggie huffed, "We can't just sit here with our asses hanging out."

"Watch your mouth," Hershel muttered. "Everyone stop panicking and listen to Rick."

"Alright," The leader said. "We'll set up a perimeter. In the morning we'll find gas and more supplies. What do we have now to work with?"

"Two boxes of canned food, three of the backpacks, and Eren's baby bag," Airianna stated. "It was all I had time to grab."

"That is more than enough," Rick insisted. "Thank you."

"After the morning run, we'll keep pushing on."

"Glenn and I can make a run now, try and scrounge up some gas," Maggie offered.

"No, we stay together," Rick argued. "God forbid something happens and people get stranded without a car."

Glenn looked around, "Rick, we're stranded now."

"I know it looks bad, we've all been through hell and worse, but at least we found each other. I wasn't sure...I really wasn't...But we did. We're together. We keep it that way." He looked around at their surroundings, "We'll find shelter somewhere. There's gotta be a place."

"Rick, look around, okay?" Glenn stressed. "There's walkers everywhere. They're migrating or something."

"There's gotta be a place," Rick continued. "Not just where we hole up, but we fortify, hunker down, pull ourselves together, _build_ a life for each other. I know it's out there. We just have to _find_ it."

Maggie sighed, "Even if we do find a place and we think it's safe, we can never be sure. For how long? Look what happened with the farm. We fooled ourselves into thinking that that was safe."

"We won't make that mistake again," Hershel promised.

"We'll make camp tonight over there," Rick pointed to a small cobblestone ruin off the side of the highway. "Get on the road at the break of day."

"What if walkers come through or another group like Randall's?" Beth asked.

"You know I found Randall, right?" Daryl said to Rick. "He had turned, but he wasn't bit."

"How's that possible?" Beth pressed.

"Rick, what the hell happened?"

Daryl scoffed, "Shane killed Randall, just like he always wanted to."

Lori furrowed her brows, "And then the herd got him?"

Rick paused at the questioning and looked away from the group, "We're all infected."

Everybody froze at his words.

Daryl glared at the leader, "What?"

"At the CDC, Jenner told me. Whatever it is, we all carry it."

Airianna raised her brow at Rick, "And you never said anything?"

"Would it have made a difference?"

Glenn shook his head, "You knew this whole time?"

"How could I have known for sure?" Rick reasoned. "You saw how crazy that-"

"That isn't your call! Okay, when I found out about the walkers in the barn, I told, for the good of everyone." Glenn hissed.

Rick shifted his feet, "Well I thought it best that people didn't know."

The group silently watched as Rick strode away towards the stone ruins they planned to camp in for the night. Airianna sighed but motioned for Sophia to follow her to the car to collect supplies. The blonde girl helped her bring the backpacks and the boxes to the ruins, watching as the doctor pulled a small blanket from Eren's baby bag. She wrapped the pale blue blanket around the girl's shivering shoulders and Sophia gave her a small smile. She and Carl then sat on the ground next to each other with Eren in her lap as the adults set up the rest of the small camp. Daryl had been lucky enough to catch two squirrels and they were currently roasting them on the fire. T-Dog stood on watch as the rest of the small group crowded around the tiny fire, vying for some of its warmth.

Beth glanced at Daryl and Airianna as they both watched the meat cook slowly on the fire, "We're not safe with him," She whispered to the couple. "Keeping something like that from us. What would've happened if I cut my wrist too deep? I could've come back and killed someone."

"Nah, Rick's done alright by me and my own," Daryl murmured.

"And I would've done everything I could to save you, Beth," Airianna said to the teenager. "You don't need to worry about 'what ifs.' We just need to focus on what to do next."

"I think we should take out chances," Maggie chimed in.

Hershel shook his head at his daughters, "Don't be foolish. There's no food, no fuel, no ammo."

A branch snapped in the distance and many in the group jumped st the sound, What was that?" Beth whispered.

Daryl shrugged his shoulders, "Could be anything. Could be a raccoon, could be a possum."

Glenn tensed, "A walker?"

"We should leave," Beth suggested. "What are we waiting for?"

"Which way?'

Maggie pointed behind them, "It came from over there."

Airianna turned her head towards where Maggie was pointing and noticed Rick had returned from his perimeter check. She pinched the bridge of her nose and pulled Sophia a little closer to her as the panic level continued to rise.

"Back from where we came?" Beth asked.

"Yeah."

Rick shook his head, "Last thing we need is for everyone to be running off in the dark. We don't have the vehicles. No one's traveling on foot."

Another branch snapped.

Hershel looked at his daughters, "Don't panic."

"I'm not sitting here, waiting for another herd to blow through," Maggie bit back. "We need to move now."

"No one is going anywhere."

"Please do something," Lori begged her husband.

"I am doing something!" Rick snapped back. "I'm keeping this group together, alive. I've been doing that all along, no matter what. I didn't ask for _this_. I killed my best friend for you people for Christ's sake!" The redhead lifted her head at Rick's confession and watched the shock fill people's faces as the words sunk in. Shane must have finally snapped, and she didn't blame Rick for defending himself or the others from the man. "You saw what he was like, how he pushed me, how he compromised us, how he threatened us. He staged the whole Randall thing, led me out to put a bullet in my back. He gave me no _choice_. He was my friend, but he came after me."

Carl started to cry at his father's harsh words and Lori pulled her son into her arms. Sophia leaned in closer to Airi, slightly sniffling from all of the news she'd been given.

Rick frowned at the sound of their tears, "My hands are clean," He observed the rest of the group, how some of them angled themselves slightly away from him. "Maybe you people are better off without me. Go ahead. I say there's a place for us, but maybe it's just another pipe dream. Maybe I'm fooling myself again. Why don't you go find out yourself? Go on, _there's the door._"

He pointed to the road, offering anyone in the group the chance to leave. He locked eyes with the female doctor and let out a silent breath when she sent him a strong shake of her head as she cuddled the two children in her arms.

He waited another moment as the rest stayed in their spots, "No takers? Fine. But get one thing straight...You're staying, this isn't a democracy anymore."


	19. Chapter 19

Eight months on the road. Traveling constantly with very few lucky breaks in the search for permanent shelter.

Or at least Airianna was guessing eight months due to the suggested progression of Lori's pregnancy. Six would be the minimum, if the kid was Shane's, and eight being the max, if the kid was Rick's. But judging on how Lori was overdue, she was leaning more to it being six months as the weather had not fully warmed up yet, meaning it was sometime during March or maybe April. That would make her own son almost a full two years old, also meant Daryl's birthday would be upon them soon as well.

Not that she would tell anyone that, she was pretty sure he'd avoid her for a full week if everyone told him happy birthday out of the blue.

The group had just left a house they attempted to scavenge, leaving quickly when walkers appeared out of nowhere. She tightened her grip on Daryl as they sped past broken down cars and other obstacles in the road, leading the group onward. A honk from behind them slow the caravan to a stop and Airi hopped from her mode of transport when Lori rushed out of the station wagon to the side of the road.

She walked over to her and checked her over as she gasped and clutched her stomach, but she assured the woman nothing was wrong with her of the baby and gently guided her to the truck's tailgate. After Lori was sitting back down she approached Rick, Herschel, and Glenn as they looked at a map of the state.

"We got no place left to go."

Maggie pointed to the top of the map, "When this herd meets up with this one, we'll be cut off. We'll never make it south."

"What would you say? About a hundred fifty heads?" Daryl asked.

"That was last week, "Glenn confirmed. "It could be twice that by now."

Herschel motioned to one of the rivers on the map, "This river could have delayed them. If we move fast, we might have a shot to tear right through there."

T-Dog shook his head, "But if this group joins with that one, they could spill out this way."

"So we're blocked."

Rick sighed, "The only thing to do is to double back at I-27 and swing towards Greenville."

"Yeah, we picked through that already," T-Dog muttered. "It's like we spent the winter going in circles."

"I know, I know," Rick agreed. "At Newnan, we'll push west. Haven't been through there yet."

"Rick," He turned to the doctor. "We can't keep going house to house. It's not healthy for her."

The leader spared a glimpse at his pregnant wife, "We need to find someplace to hole up for a few weeks."

She nodded, "At least until after she has the baby, it's already overdue. Could come any day now."

T-Dog rolled up the map, "could we swing by the creek before we head out? Won't take long."

Rick nodded and watched as T-Dog and Glenn grabbed their near-empty water jugs to go fill them back up, "Knock yourself out."

Hershel pulled Rick aside, "Lori can't take much more of this moving about."

"What else can we do? Let her give birth on the run?"

Airi scoffed, "Please don't sarcastic, not with this. Do you see a way around that with how we keep pushing on?"

Rick rubbed his face and looked away from the two medical group members in annoyance. Hershel patted Rick on the back before he wandered over to the truck to check on the pregnant woman himself.

Daryl waved Rick over, "Hey, while the others wash their panties, let's go hunt. Sophia's gotta practice somehow." The two men and the blonde girl loaded up and stepped off into the woods, but not before Sophia handed Eren over to Airianna, kissing the little boy's cheek as she passed him over.

It wasn't long before T-Dog and Glenn returned with water and then Rick, Daryl, and Sophia came back quicker than usual and empty-handed. But the gleam in Rick's eyes told the redhead they must have seen something worthwhile.

And that was how they quickly ended up outside an overrun prison cutting their way through the outer-most fence.

They quickly slipped their way through and resealed the break in the fence with metal wire, successfully keeping any outside walkers from following them. They followed the gravel path between the two sets of fences until they came to the guard towers at the entrance. The gate on the inner fence was semi blocked by the tipped over prison transport bus, and the walkers in the grassy field inside growled at the human intruders.

Rick eyed the infested field, "It's perfect. If we can shut that gate," He gestured to the gate wide open on the other side of the field, leaving the prison cell blocks open to the grass. "Prevent more from filling the yard, we can pick off these walkers. We'll take the field by tonight."

"So how do we shut the gate?" Hershel pondered.

"I'll do it," Glenn offered. "You guys cover me."

Maggie shook her head, "No, it's a suicide run."

"I'm the fastest," He argued back.

"No," Rick agreed with the Greene woman. "You, Maggie, and Beth draw as many as you can over there." He pointed to a spot further down the fence away from the closed gate. "Pop them through the fence." Glenn sighed, but he and the sisters started their way over. "Daryl, go back to the other tower." Airi's husband sprinted off to a further tower before Rick pointed to her, "Airi, you and Sophia are good shots, go with Daryl. Take your time, we don't have a lot of ammo to waste."

The two females nodded their heads and ran off after Daryl, climbing up to the top of the tower to join him. He smiled at the pair along with his son strapped to the girl's front before he turned back to where Rick was standing by the gate talking to Lori. Airianna lifted her rifle and eyed their leader through the scope as Sophia grabbed her bow. The three watched as the others screamed at the walkers, catching their attention away from Rick so Lori could pull open the gate for his mad dash.

Rick started to sneak up the gravel road, and Airianna followed him with her scope, shooting any walkers coming after him from behind while Carl and Hershel in the other tower focused on the walkers further away. Sophia took out a walker right next to their leader and the man nodded up to her before continuing to the open gate. Her and the Dixon couple spotted their leader, but Airi paused as one of her bullets flew past the walker she was aiming for and hit the ground in front of Rick.

"Shit, sorry!"

Rick luckily made it to the gate unharmed and flung a walker back inside before clipping it shut. He then ran for the tower next to the inner gate and attacked the corpse that fell out when he swung open the door. He slammed the door shut behind him and the group paused, waiting for him to emerge from the top of the tower.

"He did it," Airi muttered when she saw his head peak out of the high structure.

Daryl nodded as he dropped his crossbow and picked up the rifle he brought up with him, "Light it up!"

The rest of the group pulled out their guns and fired on the rest of the walkers lumbering in the fields. Airianna passed her rifle to Sophia and helped her aim it, smiling when the girl hit the last walker standing in the grass. The trio then climbed down the tower and back to the main gate.

"This is fantastic!" Sophia cried as they opened the gate to the grass. "We haven't had this much space since we left the farm."

"You okay?" Airi asked Lori.

"Haven't felt this good in weeks."

"Good," She slowed for the pregnant woman and walked in step with her.

Airianna stayed with the children, Beth, and Lori as the rest of the group retrieved the cars from outside the prison. She and Beth built a small fire and started cooking a mix of beans and some leftover meat from Daryl's last hunt. Everyone joined them for dinner as the sunset, except for her husband and Rick. She watched as the two suspicious men were on watch, Rick by the gate leading to the cell blocks and Daryl on top of the bus.

"Mmm, just like mom used to make," Glenn joked as he finished his portion.

"You bet it is," Airianna responded. "I'm going to take a plate to Daryl."

She ruffled Sophia's hair and kissed Eren's cheek before heading towards the bus, waving to Daryl as she reached the bottom of it. He paused in his pacing and grabbed the plate she lifted up before offering her a hand. Once she was pulled on top of the bus too Daryl picked at the meal while looking out past the fences.

"It's not much, but if I don't bring you something, you won't eat at all," She muttered.

He sniffled, "I guess little Shane over there has got quite the appetite."

Airi shoved his shoulder, "Don't be mean. Rick's doing his best at the moment, and it doesn't really matter who the father is."

"I guess," He quirked his brow as he watched his wife rub at her right shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"The kickback from the rifle forgot how much of a punch they pack."

"Hold on," He dropped his plate and motioned for her to turn around. She did as he wanted and sighed in relief as he started to lightly massage the tense muscles. She turned and smirked at the small blush on his face, "We better head back," He whispered as he looked away from his wife.

"You know," She started as he shuffled closer to the edge of the bus. "It's pretty romantic. Want to screw around?"

"Pfft, shut up," Daryl muttered. "I'll go down first."

"Even better."

He shot her a look, "Stop." He landed safely on the ground and opened his arms for her to fall into. Airi laughed and jumped off the vehicle, landing in her husband's arms. She giggled harder when he whispered in her ear, "You're lucky we ain't alone right now."

"Really? I'd say I was unlucky then," He scoffed at his wife and shoved her back towards the fire, begrudgingly following after her.

When the pair reached the flame Beth and Maggie were softly singing together, and Sophia hummed along when the couple sat down next to her. Airianna tucked her arm around the blonde girl as the singing faded out.

"Beautiful," Hershel smiled.

"Better all turn in," Rick muttered. "I'll take watch over there. Got a big day tomorrow."

"What do you mean?" Glenn asked.

"Look, I know we're all exhausted. This was a great win," He reassured the group. "But we got to push just a little bit more. Most of the walkers are dressed as guards and prisoners. Looks like this place fell pretty early. Could mean the supplies may be intact. They'd have an infirmary, a commissary…"

"An armory?" Daryl asked from next to his wife.

Rick nodded, "That would be outside the prison itself, but not too far away. The warden's office would have info on the location."

"Weapons, food, medicine...Almost seems to good to be true," Airianna added.

Hershel nodded at her thought, "We're dangerously low on ammo. We'd run out before we make a dent."

"That's why we have to go in there," Rick explained. "Hand to hand. After all we've been through, we can handle it. I know it. These assholes don't stand a chance." Carl smiled at his father and Rick beamed back before getting u to start the first watch.

Daryl took off his poncho and slipped it over Sophia and Eren as they laid down on the ground to sleep. Airianna smiled at the gesture and motioned for him to join her under the small blanket she had. He curled up behind her and wrapped his arm full around her body to Sophia, who curled into Airianna with Eren in-between the two females.

The next morning saw Rick, Glenn, T-Dog, Daryl, Maggie, and Airianna prepping to enter the closed-off gate to the cell block entrances. Rick had spent the better part of the morning trying to convince the doctor to stay behind with the others in the group to handle attacking walkers through the fence, but she stubbornly refused. She admitted that keeping a doctor alive was important to the group, but she also knew that she would not allow such a small group to go in and handle the walkers lumbering around. Besides, she brought up the countless runs and other situations she had gotten herself stuck surrounded by walkers before, and Rick quickly conceded the battle.

Hershel stood by the gate, ready to open it for the five runners wielding melee weapons, "Ready?" Rick nodded and the gate was pulled open.

The group stayed in a circular formation as they took out the walkers directly coming at them. Swifty moving through the courtyard as they hacked and stabbed at the decaying brains of the monsters. Airi grunted as she shoved her foot into the chest of one to wrench her machete out of its skull, and moved to the side as Maggie killed one coming up on their left.

Glenn watched as more walkers poured from another gate further back in the courtyard, "Get tight, get tight!"

Rick glared at T-Dog as he separated from the group, "Don't break rank!"

"We need that!" He called back, signaling to the open gate he was rushing towards. He picked up a riot shield laying on the ground and swung it at an approaching walker, Maggie running forward to finish it off. The two returned to the circle and altogether they closed in on the breach. Rick motioned them against a wall when he noticed the vast amount of walkers on the other side of the gate and cursed under his breath.

Daryl tapped Airi's shoulder and pointed to a garbage can on the other wall where walkers dressed in riot gear were stumbling towards them, beginning to alert the other walkers. Daryl shot a bolt at one of them, but it bounced off of the helmet on its head. They all started attacking the riot walkers, trying to find their weak points until Airi shoved one to the ground and Maggie shoved her knife up its exposed neck and into its brain. The two women and T-Dog took out the rest of the riot walkers while Daryl, Glenn, and Rick secured the gate, sealing off the remaining walkers from them.

They all took a few moments to catch their breaths as they glanced at the carnage around them. Glenn started towards the gate where the rest of the group was waiting when Rick flagged him down, "Stop."

"Well, it looks secure," Glenn replied.

"Not from the look of that courtyard over there," Daryl said as he pointed to the walkers piling up on the gate. "And that's a civilian." Glenn tensed when he noticed the female walker Daryl was gesturing to.

T-Dog sigh, "So the interior could be overrun with walkers from outside the prison."

"Well if there's walls down what are we going to do? We can't rebuild this whole place," Glenn pointed out.

"Maybe we don't have to," He turned to the redhead. "Prisons have separated areas that can be sealed off in case of a riot. We just need to find the hole and close it off."

"We can't risk a blind spot," The leader said. "We have to push it."

Glenn nodded and let Rick lead the way to the metal-enclosed stairs leading into the cell block labeled C. Daryl pulled open the squeaking door and they paused, waiting for the sound to alert the corpses inside. Airi closed the sliding door behind them while Rick pushed open the barred door leading to a common area with metal tables. Rick motioned to the office-like room above the messy common area, allowing Airi and Maggie to silently make their way up the small flight of stairs to check it out.

Maggie gagged at the smell of decay and Airianna paused at the sight of the dead guard's body. She frowned at the blood on the glass from the bullet he put in his brain but smiled at the keychain resting on his belt. She unclipped the jangling metal and tossed them down the stairs to Rick. He caught them and carefully unlocked the barred door leading to the cells in the block. The cell area was covered in trash and ripped up mattresses as if a riot had broken out before the prison fell. Rick checked the door at the other side of the cell block and relaxed as it stayed in place when he pushed on it.

The rest of the group stayed on the ground floor as Rick and Daryl investigated a sound coming from the second level cells. Glenn and T-Dog started to pull the dead bodies out of the cells while Maggie and Airi combed the common area of any blind spots. They noted another closed-door leading further into the prison and a small, fully-barred room in the corner of the common area. Maggie moved to collect the rest of the group from outside when Rick came back down the stairs and Airi joined the men in disposing of the corpses. T-Dog was lugging a body into the common area as the rest of the group slipped by her and Glenn into the cell block.

"What do you think?" Rick asked.

"Home sweet home," Glenn answered.

The leader nodded, "For the time being."

Lori glanced her eyes around, "It's secure?"

"This cell block is."

"What about the rest of the prison?" Hershel asked.

"In the morning we'll find the cafeteria and the infirmary," Rick explained.

Beth warily eyed the cells, "We'll sleep in the cells?"

Rick nodded, "We found keys on some guards. Daryl has a set too."

The hunter scoffed, "I ain't sleeping in no cage. I'll take the perch." He started to drag a mattress out to the second-floor landing and Airi rolled her eyes.

She started up the steps after him, "Too small for all of us, hon."

"Don't want to sleep in one of those," He argued.

"How about Sophia and I take the one on the end up here?" She offered. "Then you can sleep right outside."

"Speaking of Sophia," He grunted while pointing down. Airi looked at the first floor and noticed the blonde girl chatting with Carl in one of the cells. She smiled at the pair but moved down the stairs to collect the young girl.

"It's actually pretty comfy," Sophia mutter as she bounced Eren in her lap.

Carl patted the bunk on the top, smiling when her words were proven true when a throat clearing behind him made him jump and nervously spin around. He relaxed a little when he saw Airianna eyeing them with a smirk on her face.

"You find your cell yet, Carl?"

"Yeah, I was just making sure Sophia was safe," He awkwardly muttered.

"Alright," She went along with his half-assed lie. "Sophia, Daryl and I found a good spot upstairs if you want to join us."

"Could I stay here?" She asked. "Beth wanted to bunk with me," As she said that the teenager peeked her head into the cell.

"Sure hon, just pass me Eren so he doesn't bother you two," She happily nodded and passed the boy over to his mother.

Eren giggled at the movement and grasped onto his mom's hair once he was in her arms, tugging lightly on the long strands as she left the girls alone in their cell. Lori and Rick claimed a cleaner cell on the second floor as well while the rest of the group remained on the lower floor. Airianna set her son down on the floor of the corner cell and let him wander around the room as she unpacked their meager possessions.

Daryl paused at the entrance to the room, "Might be safer for the little guy downstairs."

"If you're staying up here, then we are too," Airianna declared.

Her husband sighed and helped her layout one of the mattresses on the floor for Eren, placing his baby blanket on the bedding once it was set up. He then assisted in the rest of the unpacking and plopped down on the lower bunk when their bags were finally tucked away.

"Thought you didn't want to stay in a cell?"

He grunted, "I'll try it tonight and if it sucks ass I'll sleep outside, happy?"

She grinned and laid Eren down for sleep before she joined Daryl on the twin-sized bed, curling up for the night.

Airianna woke up the next morning to the sound of clanging and she nearly fell out of bed as she tried to get up. She slipped out of the cell when she noticed Daryl and Eren were gone and wandered down the stairs to where Beth and Lori were serving small bowls of food in the common room. She gratefully took a bowl of oatmeal from them and waved to Sophia and Carl as they sat on the floor with Eren eating breakfast. She then turned her attention over to where most of the others were surrounding one of the other tables.

"Not bad," Daryl muttered as he eyed the stash of weapons they picked off the dead walkers.

Rick nodded, "Flashbangs, CS triple-chasers. Not sure how they'd work on walkers, but we'll take them."

Airi watched as Daryl picked up an oozing riot helmet and sneered at the smell, "I ain't wearing this shit."

"We could boil them," T-Dog offered.

Her husband scoffed, "Ain't enough firewood in the whole forest. No. Besides we got this far without them, right?"

Beth stepped forward and tapped Airi on the shoulder, "Airi?" She turned and watched as the teenager motioned her head back towards the cell block where she could make out Lori sitting on a bed panting.

"Everything alright?" Rick asked.

Beth quickly nodded, "Yeah, nothing to worry about."

She waved to the others and let Beth lead her to where Lori was sitting," It's the baby. I think I lost it."

"You haven't felt it move?"

The pregnant woman sniffled, "Nothing. And no Braxton-Hicks," The doctor asked Beth for her medical bag and placed her hands gently on the bump as she waited for the blonde woman to return. "At first I thought it was exhaustion or malnutrition. If we're all infected, then so's the baby. So what if it's stillborn? What if it's dead inside of me right now? What if it rips me apart?"

"Stop," Airi pressed. "Don't let your fear take control of you."

"Then let's say it lives and I die during childbirth…"

"That's not going to happen," Airi muttered as she grabbed her bag offered by Beth and started to rifle through it.

"Why not?" Lori asked. "How many women died in childbirth before modern medicine?"

"Not as many as you think, many died due to excessive pregnancies and lack of midwives and doctors. This your second one," The doctor argued as she used her stethoscope on the woman's stomach.

"If I come back," Lori continued. "What if I attack it? Or you? Or Rick? Or Carl? If I do, if there is any chance, you put me down immediately. You don't hesitate. Me, the baby, if we're walkers, you don't hesitate and you don't try to save us. Okay?"

Airi shook her head, "Lori, you're exhausted and frightened. You're only thinking of the bad."

"That's true," Lori conceded. "My son can't stand me. And my husband, after what I put him through…"

"Well, that is stuff you can fix, it just takes time," She said as she patted the pregnant woman's back. "But if you keep worrying it will only hurt you and the baby."

"Rick hates me," Lori spat out. "I put him and Shane at odds, I practically put that knife in his hands.

"You know who doesn't give a shit about that?" The doctor asked as she put away her supplies. "This baby. Now the good news, the baby is perfectly fine. They just ran out of wiggle room."

"Oh so it'll come soon," Lori said as she wiped her eyes.

"Yes, but Hershel and I are ready for this," Airianna assured. "And so are you."

The two women then stepped out of the cell in time to see some of the group members getting ready to explore more of the prison's tombs. Lori and Airi smiled at Carl trying on one of the helmets in an attempt to make Sophia smile.

Rick turned to his son, "You won't need that. I need you to stay put."

Carl groaned, "You're kidding."

"We don't know what's in there. If something goes wrong, you could be the last man standing," Rick said. "I need you to handle things here."

He sighed, "Sure."

Rick ruffled his hair, "Great. Let's go," He spared a look up at his wife before he followed Hershel, Daryl, Glenn, Maggie, and T-Dog out of the cell. He paused and waited for Carl to lock the door before he and the rest of the exploring group finally left the safety of C block.

Airianna motioned for Lori to go rest as she climbed down the stairs to join Carl, Sophia, Eren, and Beth, "How about we tidy this place up for when they get back?"

Beth beamed at the thought and started to help her collect the paper scattered across the floor, while Carl and Sophia started to drag the mattresses laying out back to the cell blocks missing them. In a few short minutes, the chaos left the by riot was almost completely gone, save for the odd stains across the concrete. The group collectively brought the paper scraps outside to burn later with any firewood they would collect in the future. The joked that the paper would be safe in the trash cans littered out in the courtyard, perfect storage for later use.

She asked the kids to unpack more of their things to make their rooms more comfortable while she had Beth help make lunch for when the group came back. She mixed canned beans and some canned chicken to make a sort of chili and had Beth add whatever spices she wanted to improve the meal. The teenager happily mixed the ingredients and Lori came down to assist in the right spice mixing, showing the blonde the best herbs to pair together. As Airi offered some of the unspiced portion of the food to her son she smiled at the small amount of normalcy they were able to experience.

But all her effort of a calm environment was shattered when Rick came running in with Hershel bleeding out on a metal cart, the bottom half of his right leg missing.


	20. Chapter 20

Airianna jumped into motion when she heard Beth sobbing and Rick yelling out, "Go, go, go, in there!"

"Get him on the bed!" The doctor shoved the crowd of people out of the way and joined Maggie in putting pressure on the wound.

Daryl called out, "He got bit."

Lori gasped, "Oh my god, he's gonna turn?"

Airi spared a glance at the gushing wound, "Did you cut the limb off?"

Rick nodded, "Yeah."

"Let's hope you got it in time," She reeled back when the towels against the wound started to become more drenched in Hershel's blood. "I need bandages, someone go get my bag now!" Glenn sprinted up the stairs to her cell while she turned to the others, "I need space, you all need to leave."

Lori shook her head, "He needs help."

"What he needs now is my help, and you are in my way," Lori took a step back the woman's harsh words. "Maggie can stay and help but the rest of you need to leave."

Beth sniffled, "Is he gonna die?"

Airi shrugged, "He'll be okay, someone go get me more towels."

"There's some in my room," Lori offered. "Carl go grab them."

Glenn came rushing back with the black duffle bag full of medical supplies and tossed it at the doctor's feet. She started to rifle through it.

"Can you stabilize him?" Rick asked.

"I need to get his leg elevated first," She muttered as Maggie started to prop up the limb with whatever pillows were in the room.

"He's bleeding through the sheets," Maggie hissed out.

"We can burn the wound to clot the blood," Glenn suggested. "I can start a fire."

"Cauterizing the limb now will only send him into shock," The doctor shot back. "We need to slow the blood flow before I can cauterize the blood vessels." She thanked Carl when he returned with more towels and motioned for him to step away, "Now leave Maggie and me to work on him."

She tossed away the bloody rags and added another pillow under Hershel's leg to fully elevate it above the heart. She then gave Maggie the fresh towels and the short-haired girl started to carefully redress the wound while the doctor pulled an IV out of her duffle bag.

"Last bit of penicillin we have," She muttered as she attached the drip to the bunk bed and then inserted the needle into her patient's arm. "Hopefully it's enough to fight off any infection."

Maggie gulped, "And if it's not?"

The redhead sighed, "Then we better find that infirmary soon," She grabbed the other woman's hands when they began to shake. "The wound's wrapped for now, and the drip is going. We'll just have to wait until we have to change the dressings again. It's already slowing down quite a bit." She gently led Maggie out of the cell and into Glenn's waiting arms. Glenn tightened his arms around her as she began to cry and Airianna stepped away to give them privacy.

She wandered over to the bars separating the cells from the common area when she heard yelling and paused at the sight of five men in prison jumpsuits.

One of the men pulled a gun from the waistband of his pants, "This is my house, I go where I damn well please!"

Airianna jumped when a hand landed on her shoulder, but relaxed when she caught Rick's eye, "Who are they?"

"Prisoners, survivors," The leader grunted as they both eyed the apparent leader of the prison group. "I'll take care of it, you and Glenn need to stay by his side."

"He and Maggie are watching him, don't worry," She replied.

"I need you both there, in case something happens and Glenn can't…" He rubbed his forehead. "I can't have our only doctor left getting mixed up with these people."

She nodded, "Don't worry Rick, I know."

He gave her a tight smile and slipped a pair of handcuffs into her hands before swinging open the barred door and running over to where Daryl and T-Dog were yelling at the intruders. Carl ran over to the door when Airi slammed it shut and he quickly relocked it.

She stepped back into Hershel's cell and leaned over his unconscious body as Glenn and Maggie watched her handcuff his free arm to the bed, "Just in case," Glenn nodded at her logic and offered her a weak smile. "I'll be back in a second."

Airi wandered out of the room and passed Lori and Beth sitting together in the teenager's cell. She stopped at the stairs where Sophia and Carl were sitting with Eren toddling around on the floor near the steps.

The blonde girl bit her lip, "Is Hershel going to die?"

"Hopefully not," Airi muttered. "But we are dangerously low on bandages and other supplies."

"You need to get to the infirmary, right?" Carl asked.

"Yes."

"But the Rick and the others are dealing with those prisoners right now," Sophia pointed out.

"We'll just have to wait then," The doctor added.

Carl stood up, "But Hershel may not have that much time."

"Carl, I have some of my supplies left. Hershel will be fine for the rest of the day at least," She explained as she tried to calm the boy.

"But what if you run out of bandages or medicine?"

She rubbed her face and groaned, "Just have to hope he'll pull through," She sighed and offered the children a small smile. "Good news is: I know what I'm doing and the blood is slowing down. I can fix his leg once I'm sure we won't have to worry about an infection."

Sophia breathed a sigh of relief, "So that's good, right Carl?"

He boy reluctantly nodded his head, "Yeah, I guess. Thanks for the update, Airi."

"Anytime Carl," She muttered before returning to the injured man's side.

She kept a close eye on Hershel as Maggie and Beth poked their heads in to check on their father's condition every now and then. Lori came to join her on watch and helped her keep a close eye on Hershel's breathing rate and pulse. Airianna started to unbind the now dirty bandages from his leg, furrowing her brows when she noticed the lack of bandages in her bag, instead, she decided to use the towels Carl brought in earlier.

The creaking of the door drew her from his side and she beamed at the amount of food Rick and the others brought back, "What did you find?" Carl asked.

T-Dog smiled, "Canned corn, canned beef, canned cans. There's a lot more where this came from."

She nodded to Rick as he passed her, "Any change?"

"The bleeding is under control and no fever," She paused. "But his breath is labored and his pulse is weaker than normal. I have him on some antibiotics, but I'm all out of them and fresh bandages."

"He hasn't opened his eyes yet," Lori added.

He eyed the two mothers, "Are my cuffs on him?" They both nodded their heads. "Good, I'm not taking any chances."

Lori stepped back into the cell and Airi nodded her head towards the common room, "So what about the prisoners?"

He sighed, "We're gonna help them clear out their own cell block, and then they'll be there and we'll be here."

"Do they have guns?'

He shook his head, "I only saw one."

"Alright, hope you can wrap that up quick cause I need the supplies from the infirmary. Herschel could change at any minute," Rick placed his hand on the doctor's shoulder.

"We will get to that as soon as this threat is taken care of," He promised. "Now I don't know if this will work…"

"But a good person has to try, I know, Rick," She assured him. The leader started to walk away when Airi muttered, "Keep an eye on Daryl for me."

"We both know he can take care of himself," He chuckled.

Airianna watched the man leave and wandered over to where Glenn was sitting with Eren. She paused at the cell when she noticed Maggie speaking privately with her father, but elected to give the woman her privacy. Glenn gestured to her son as she approached.

"He started following me around," He admitted. "I've never picked him up before so I don't really know what to do."

She chuckled and swept Eren into her arms, "Come on pizza boy, real simple now."

"Please stop calling me pizza boy," Glenn jokingly begged as she gently passed Eren into his shaking arms.

"Pizza!" Eren squealed as he tugged on Glenn's shirt.

The Korean man groaned, "God, you have him doing it too?"

She was about to respond when the squeaking of a door hinge was heard and she swung around to the door at the end of the cell block, frowning when she watched Carl and Sophia slip through the door with a large bag in their arms. The two walked straight to Hershel's cell and dropped the bag outside of it and Lori stepped out of the cell next door to investigate.

"What's all this?" She asked as she unzipped the bag.

"Thought you two were organizing the food," Glenn muttered.

"Even better," Sophia replied.

Carl nodded, "Check it out," Airianna and Lori both gasped at the sight of fresh bandages, hydrogen peroxide, and bottles of different medication.

"Where did you get all this?" Carl's mother demanded as the doctor swept the bag up and into the room to properly redress Hershel's wound.

"We found the infirmary," Carl said proudly. "Wasn't much left, but we cleared it out."

Lori frowned, "You two went by yourselves?"

"Yeah," They both said at the same time.

"Are you crazy?"

The smile fell from the boy's face, "No big deal, we killed two walkers. Easy with Sophia's great aim." The blonde girl lightly blushed at the compliment and Airi rolled her eyes at the pair.

Lori, however, glared at her son, "Alright, you see this? This was with the whole group."

"We needed the supplies so we got them," Carl argued.

"I appreciate that, but-"

"Then get off my back!" The boy snapped.

"Carl," He paused at Beth's words as she stood next to Glenn. "She's your mother. You can't talk to her like that."

He glared at the blonde teenager before storming out, Sophia hot on his heels. Airianna sighed at the unnecessary drama, "They did a good job," She pointed out.

"They went alone," Lori hissed.

"They went together," The doctor noted. "Better than Carl stubbornly going by himself, don't you think? Besides..." She tightened the wrapping around the injured limb. "They were only trying to help."

"I am aware of that fact," Lori conceded. "But he is my son and what he did was dangerous."

Airi rolled her eyes, and attempted to change the subject, "Well this fresh set of bandages will help prevent infection."

"That's good," Glenn muttered. "It's good that you know all this stuff."

She nodded, "Well medical school is a great way to learn."

She paused for a moment and glanced between Maggie and Glenn, "Need a favor from you two."

"With what?" Maggie asked.

Airi shook her head, "Not here."

"No," Glenn denied. "I can't leave Hershel."

"Glenn, please," She pleaded. "This is important."

"Go on," Lori cut in. "Beth and I can watch him for a little bit."

"No way."

Beth patted his arm, "We'll be fine."

"I doubt we'll be gone long," Maggie added.

The man gave in and stepped aside so Airianna and Maggie would walk out fo the cell. The redhead motioned for the keys and Carl tossed them over from where he was sitting and while she opened the door to the common room Glenn clumsily passed Eren back into the arms of Sophia. She waited for the couple before leading them out to the courtyard. Maggie eyed the doctor as they walked in silence to the fence separating the concrete from the grass.

"So what are we doin' exactly?" She asked.

"What Glenn said, made me think," She started as she led them onwards. "Hershel and I are the only ones who know medical stuff beyond basic first aid. Though I'm sure he's taught you a few things, Maggie."

"So?" Glenn pondered.

"Glenn today proved how vulnerable we all are," Airianna pointed out. "Anything can happen. So if something happens to me before Lori has her baby-"

Maggie shook her head, "Nothin' is going to happen to you."

"You can't promise that. No one can," The couple paused at her point and watched as she stopped at the gate leading to the outer fences. "So someone needs to know what to do if I'm not there."

Glenn caught on to what the doctor was getting at as they stopped in front of the final fence, keeping their distance from the few walkers growling near them, "Everything you're saying is completely sane."

Maggie quirked her brow, "You want to teach us? With a walker?"

"In med school, we practiced on cadavers," She explained. "We have plenty to practice with, and it's just so at least another person knows how to do a proper C-section."

"I'm just trying to wrap my mind around it," Glenn admitted. "And it would be a worst-case scenario, we learn just in case."

The short-haired woman sighed, "No, Lori had Carl by C-section so she'll probably be the same with this baby." She lifted the piece of pipe she brought and slammed it into the head of a female walker against the fence. Glenn sighed but moved to distract the other walkers so the two women could drag the dead one in. Once the female body was dragged into the fence and on the gravel, they retied the gap in the fence and waited for Glenn to return.

"If you don't want to be here for this, Glenn, you don't have to," Airianna offered the man an out.

He shrugged his shoulders, "No, it's a good skill to learn, I guess."

Maggie nodded, "So what's first?"

"First you need to learn how to cut through the abdomen and the uterus without cutting the baby," The couple listened as the doctor started her lesson. "But you have to do it on the left side, across and just above the pubic bone, to avoid cutting into the intestines." She carefully cut through the cold flesh of the corpse and Glenn gagged at the smell entering his nose. "Once the original incision has been made, you have to make a second incision on the left side of the uterus, and the muscle will pull back." She gently pulled back the flap of skin and the like layer of muscle underneath. "Then you must deliver the baby, which should only take about five minutes. Then you simply resew the uterus and the skin."

She turned to her friends once she was done explaining, pausing at their surprised looks, "How'd you make that look so easy?" Maggie muttered.

"Years of practice, here," She offered the woman the scalpel she brought with her. "You two can practice, or just you Maggie. I'll go check on Hershel."

The short-haired woman nodded in agreement and moved back to the fence to retrieve her own cadaver to practice on. Airianna snorted under her breath as Glenn's face turned slightly green at the thought of practicing the task given to him, but he stayed back with Maggie anyway. She quickly made her way back to the cell block and reentered the door.

She was partway through the common room when Beth screamed out. "He's not breathing! Help!"

Airianna broke into a run and jumped through the doorway, skidding to a stop when she reached the room. She shoved Beth out of the way and placed her hands on Hershel's neck, relaxing slightly when she felt a very weak pulse under her fingertips. She clasped her hands together and started compressions on his sternum to help increase his heart rate, pausing every twenty beats to breathe air into his mouth. She jumped when his hand flew up and tightly grasping her hair, freezing when Beth and Lori scrambled to pull her away from the gasping man. She let out a shaky breath when he locked eyes with her and passed back out.

"What just happened?" Sophia asked. Airi turned to see her tucked behind Carl who was aiming his gun at the older man.

She stood up on her weak legs and lowered his gun, "It's okay, he was just having trouble breathing."

As she and the other women recovered from the jump scare Glenn and Maggie returned, "What happened here?"

"Daddy couldn't breathe, so Airi saved his life," Beth muttered as she hugged her older sister. Glenn gave the doctor a thankful look, and she waved him off.

She sat by Hershel's bedside as the rest of the group returned from their time with the inmates and Carl turned to greet his father, "Hershel stopped breathing. Airi saved him."

"It's true," Glenn corroborated.

Rick entered the cell and gave the panting doctor a tight smile before he set his sights on Hershel. He crouched by the man and watched for any sign of him waking up. He stood up when the injured man started to move his lips slightly, but Airianna placed her hand over his own. They both watched as Hershel groaned and his eyelids fluttered open. His daughters rushed to his side as Rick moved to uncuff his wrist. Airianna stepped away from the girls but was stopped by Hershel's hand grabbing her own.

She beamed at him and gave him a small nod before she left the cell to stand next to Daryl. He wrapped his arm around her waist and leaned his head on top of hers, "You did good."

"Thanks, hon."


	21. Chapter 21

Airianna sat with Beth in the morning as the teenager was cooking oatmeal in the common room. Daryl, T-Dog, and Rick left early in the morning to finish burning the dead bodies left outside while Airi kept a close eye on Hershel and Lori, who had been having slight abdominal pain since she woke up. Her water had yet to break, but the doctor guessed it would happen later in the day. Luckily Hershel was feeling better since his swipe with death a few days ago, and his stump was healing far better after Airianna cauterized the rest of the leaking blood vessels after Hershel had awoken.

It had been an unpleasant process, but they both agreed it was necessary to prevent any chance of infection in the future. She still insisted on the bandages until the scar tissue had time to cover the whole wound.

But for now, she was relaxing with the kids, smiling as Eren made a mess of his oatmeal as Carl tried to feed it to the boy.

"Carl, you know he can eat it himself?" The boy nodded at her question.

"Yeah, just practicing for my little sibling," Carl responded.

She smiled, "Smart, don't you think so Eren?"

The little boy giggled at his mother, "Mamma! Carl fwummy!" Sophia and Carl's smiles brightened at the boy's cheering.

"He knows my name!"

"Hey," The blonde girl shoved her friend aside. "Eren knows my name too."

She wiggled her fingers at the toddler and he squealed and grabbed for her, "Fia! Fia!"

Carl scoffed, "That's not your name."

Airi shrugged her shoulders as the girl picked up her son, "Just can pronounce it all yet. You have an easy name, Carl."

He blushed and rolled his eyes as Sophia continued to play with the squishy child. The doctor finished up her breakfast and gave the bowl to Beth with a small 'thank you' before she slipped back into the cell area and picked up a set of crutches Rick had found in the infirmary the day prior.

She brought the crutches over to Hershel's cell and tapped on the wall, "Morning, got a special delivery."

Herschel beamed at his fellow doctor as he sat up in his bed, "What wonderful news."

Lori and Beth joined her as she helped the older man to the edge of his bed, "Just have to adjust them to your height and then we're good to go."

"Just take your time," Lori advised when Hershel rose to his single foot, using the bed as a balance.

Beth grabbed his arm as he faltered a bit on his good leg, "Daddy, don't push yourself."

"What else am I going to do?" He asked. "I can't stand looking up at the bottom of that bunk anymore." He grasped the crutches from the redhead and slipped them under his arms, beginning to balance on them as he tried to maneuver around the small room. He stumbled slightly and the women reached to steady him, but he quickly got the hang of the hopping/walking, "You know, I think I'm pretty steady."

"That's a good start," Airianna commented. "Want to take a rest?"

Hershel quirked his brow, "Rest? Let's go for a little stroll."

The crutches tapped against the concrete as the small group entered the common room, Beth moving to grab Eren from Sophia to keep her hands busy when Airianna waved her away from her father. She and Lori assisted the man up the small steps and out the door, smiling when he paused to enjoy the light spring air. Lori moved to open the door to the metal cage encasing the outdoor stairs as Airi stayed in front of Hershel for emergency balance.

"You are handling these like a pro," She jested.

Herschel smiled as he got to the bottom of the steps, "Broke my leg once upon a time. Became good friends with crutches."

Carl and Sophia bounded down the steps to catch up with the adults, pausing behind Beth to give the older man some space, "We did a lot of cleaning Hershel," Sophia pointed out as she motioned to the almost clean courtyard.

He smiled at the little girl, "You clear all those bodies out? It's starting to look like a place we could really live in."

Lori nodded as she eyed his movement, "Het, you watch your step. Last thing we need is you falling."

"Be pretty funny though," Airi added to lighten the mood.

They slowly moved to the end of the courtyard near the fence to catch sight of the rest of the group. Airianna waved at Daryl, Glenn, and Rick as they brought in firewood and cast her eyes around the field. T-Dog and Maggie were adjusting the cars on the far side of the courtyard while the two surviving inmates were standing locked up in the outer fence with a small box of supplies. She frowned at them and wondered why they were there, did they want to leave? Or was Rick finally kicking them out?

She brushed the thoughts from her mind when she heard Glenn yell out, "Alright Hershel!" She chuckled at his enthusiasm, along with the dirty look she saw her husband send the younger man.

Beth smiled at her father, "You're doing great, Daddy."

Carl wandered to stand near him as he hopped along, "You ready to race, Hershel?"

The one-legged man laughed, "Give me another day. I'll take you on. You too little miss." Sophia and Carl giggled at the man's jesting tone. Airianna stepped away from Hershel as he got closer to the fence and shuffled closer to where Maggie and T-Dog were happily watching the man. She knew Lori was hovering over him so he had no need for another worry-wart.

"Walkers! Look out!"

Airi shot her head to Carl and froze at the sight of walkers stumbling towards the small group near the fence. She sprinted over with T-Dog and Maggie and started to shoot at the walkers moving closer to their group members, praying they were able to get away from the threats. Carl, Sophia, and Lori joined in on the shooting as well to give Beth and Hershel time to climb up a small flight of stairs and shut themselves in a small guard gate near the fence.

She followed T-Dog as he continued to shoot the walkers down, "That gate is open!" She swung her gaze to the previously locked gate in the back of the courtyard where most of the walkers were now shuffling out of. She started to head towards it with T-Dog when a high pitched scream caught her ear. She turned around to see Sophia on the ground with a walker on top of her, snapping at her face as she tried to hold it back.

She ran up to the walker and slammed her knife into its head before shoving it off of the scared girl, who jumped up and wrapped her arms around the redhead's waist. She continued to shoot the walkers getting closer to them and smiled when she saw Lori, Carl, and Maggie escape into C block. She moved to follow them but frowned when a group of walkers cut them off, forcing her towards the small door near the open gate T-Dog was still fighting towards. She kept the girl behind her as she took out walkers coming up behind T-Dog, hoping to give him an opening to lock the gate again. When she caught sight of him sealing the gate she swung the door open to reveal an empty hallway they had yet to explore.

A cry of pain caught her ears and she gasped at the sight of a walker ripping into T-Dog's shoulder, "No!"

He spun around at killed the corpse that bit him before running towards the woman and child becoming him to safety. He stumbled to slam the door closed behind them to keep walkers from following and groaned in pain from the wound he sustained. They paused for a second when the door was secured and he grimaced at the heat stemming from his shoulder, "T-Dog let me see that," Airi begged as she tried to get him to turn around.

"No," He denied. "We keep moving, get back to the cellblock."

"But T you're injured," Sophia cried.

He nodded his head, "I'm bit, and there's nothing either of you can do," The little girl sobbed at his words. "But we can still get back to the cellblock."

They started to move but froze when a loud ringing echoed around them, "What the hell is that?" Airi yelled over the noise.

"Sounds like prison alarms," T-Dog replied as he continued to drag the two females through the twist and turns of the halls. "There's a set of double doors that will lead to a corridor that'll get you two back to our cell block."

"You need to stop," Sophia called back.

"I'm getting you both there!"

Airianna placed her hand on his uninjured shoulder, "T-Dog, stop."

"Why? So I can sit here and die?" He asked. "This is God's plan. He'll take care of me. Always has, but I'm taking care of you first." They turned a corner and T shined his small flashlight only continuing to stumble along once the coast was clear, "He's gonna help me lead you out of these tombs."

They passed the double doors and T-Dog pointed to a white arrow on the wall, pointing to a left turn, "You guys mapped the way."

"Pretty smart right?" He groaned and fell to the wall, trying to fight off the growing pain.

"Sophia, help me," Airi ordered as she grabbed one of T-Dog's arms and tossed it around her shoulders. Sophia ran to his other side and wrapped her arms around his waist to help hold his weight. The two carried the man as they followed the arrows through the twist and turns of the tunnels.

They turned once more as they tried to see through the flashing lights, "We're almost there," T-Dog muttered.

They turned left once more but stopped in their tracks when growls sounded from the end of the hall. The lights flashed once more and the trio froze at the mass of walkers making their way towards them. Airi lifted her gun but swore when the click of an empty magazine met her ears, and she shoved Sophia behind her.

"We have to go back!"

"No," T-Dog cried. "We're close. We're close!" He broke out of the doctor's hold and ran towards the mass of monsters. He slammed them into the wall, giving an opening for the woman and child to run past to safety, "Go! Go!" Sophia wailed, but Airi dragged her past T-Dog and the walkers to the door but paused to look back at her friend, "Go! I'm dead!" He screamed as the corpses began to tear into his body. Airianna sobbed as she swung open the door and dragged Sophia onwards, leaving their friend to his fate.

Airianna continued to run through the halls with Sophia tearfully following her, but she slammed the girl into the wall when she heard the telltale sign of walkers nearby the fork in the hall, "What do you have on you hon?"

Sophia shakily brought her hand to her belt," My...My knife," She whimpered.

"Okay, you keep that in your hand," Airi ordered and the blonde girl unsheathed the knife with her hand. She wiped her face before returning her other hand to Airi's.

"I'm scared…"

"I know," The redhead assured. "I'm going to lead them away okay."

The girl began to sniffle, "You can't. You can'!"

"I have to," She insisted. "Solitary is right up here," She pointed to the hall to their left, where the arrow pointed. "You follow the arrows, and if you can't you lock yourself in one of the cells. Do you hear me?" Sophia slowly nodded her head as she tried to hold back her tears, "I'm going to the right to deal with the walkers. If I don't join you-"

"You have to!" She wailed.

"_If I don't_, wait for our group," The doctor continued to press. "You wait for Daryl. And you take care of Eren, you hear me?" The girl shook as her tears fell, but nodded her head in agreement. "Good," She leaned forward and kissed Sophia lightly on the forehead before shoving her down the left hallway. She then went down the right one and stopped when she turned another corner to a small cluster of walkers ambling around.

The corpses noticed her and growled while they stumbled towards her, she quickly jammed her knife into the nearest one and used it as a shield to slam against the other two in the hall. She was able to shove her knife into the other two after some struggling and gagged at the amount of walker blood covering her clothes. She turned back around and slowly approached the corner leading back to where Sophia went but paused on the wall when she noticed more walkers in the area she was standing with Sophia before. She cursed and turned back around, turning back to the clear hall.

Airianna relaxed slightly when the ringing in the halls stopped and hoped it was her group who turned them off. She slipped through another doorway and slowed as the halls widened. She glanced at the door she passed through and caught the faded word 'Administration.' Weight on her back sent her to the floor and she screamed when a grasping hand pulled her hair, struggling to keep the walker's jaws from her neck. She wildly swung her knife behind her and luckily caught it in the side of the head, taking a deep breath at the squelching sound. She groaned as she rolled it off her back and sat up, gasping as pain shot down her leg.

She clenched her eyes shut and warily glanced down her leg, calming when she noticed the lack of a bite but continued to frown at the piece of rebar sticking through her left leg.

"Fucking shit," She grunted as she used the wall to stand. "Oooh, okay Airianna Marie Dixon, quit your moaning and find a safe place to cry first."

She took a deep breath and limped her way through the quiet hall, passing the multiple empty rooms until she came across a metal door labeled 'Warden.' She cursed as she jimmied the lock, but sighed when the door cracked open. She peered her had in and caught sight of the dead body of the warden sitting in a chair behind the large desk in the room.

Airi inched her way closer to the body once the door was shut again, tensely eyeing the corpse until she noted the bullet wound right through its head.

She fell to the floor as her leg throbbed in pain, "Aaahhh!"

She moved to take off her flannel but grunted when she met her bare arm instead. She must have had it ripped off earlier during the fighting, God the universe hated her.

She dragged herself over to the warden's desk and fumbled through the drawers, cheering when she pulled a small first aid kit out of the bottom drawer. She flung the box open and pulled out the wrapped bandages and the small container of hydrogen peroxide. She unlatched her belt and tightened it around her leg right above the piece of metal sticking through her calf.

Airianna steeled her nerves and bit the hilt of her knife as she ripped the rusted metal from the back of her legs, crying out as it ripped further through her muscle. She deftly swabbed the entrance and exit wounds with the peroxide before wrapping it thoroughly with half of her available gauze.

Her breath heaved as she leaned back against the side of the desk, wiping the sweat and tears from her eyes as they began to flutter. She tried to keep herself awake, but her arm grew limp as her vision faded and she succumbed to unconsciousness.


	22. Chapter 22

Glenn huffed as he continued to dig two new graves. Lori and T-Dog, how could they be gone? How did the group allow this to happen? He sniffled as he rammed the shovel back into the dirt. Airi and Sophia were still missing, but Daryl insisted since they found no evidence of them yet that they must be holed up in the prison somewhere.

The Korean man didn't want to admit it to the hunter, but he was planning on digging two more graves. Walkers now flooded the tombs, making it near impossible for anyone to survive in there alone. Sure they could be together, but he personally knew Airianna would stupidly throw herself into danger to protect the little girl of their group.

Not to say he or anyone else wouldn't as well, but their survival chances greatly lowered due to this fact.

Not to mention Eren had become inconsolable when Daryl and Maggie took off to find baby formula for their newest member as if he knew both his parents were gone. Not even Beth could cheer the wailing toddler up, which only seemed to dampen the teen's mood even more.

He paused when he heard footsteps coming toward him and climbed from the hole to face the two prisoners left standing, Oscar and Axel, "How's the perimeter look?"

Axel pointed to the furthest fence, "We got the walkers spread out, need help?" Glenn ignored his offered and resumed his digging. "Your friends, they...they were good folks."

He eyed the inmate, "They were family."

"I think I had one friend like that my whole life," Oscar muttered. "You got a whole group. Sorry you lost them."

Glenn glanced past the pair and locked eyes with Hershel. He sighed and passed the shovel to Axel as he started up to the courtyard, "I need two more," He walked up the hill and stopped on his side of the fence, "Rick?"

"Still inside."

Glenn nodded his head, "Okay, I'll get him. Any sign of Airi and Sophia?"

Herschel shook his head.

"A third of our group in one day," Glenn muttered.

The older man nodded, "Cause of one asshole."

The Korean man looked away, "Part of me wishes we killed all the prisoners on sight.'

"Axel and Oscar seem like good guys," Hershel mentioned.

"You know, when the evacuations started, T-Dog drove his church van to the home of every senior he knew just in case they needed a ride. He saved my ass a thousand times," He sighed. "He wasn't just a good guy. He was the best."

"He got bit closing the gate. If he hadn't done that…"

"It could've been Maggie," Glenn finished. "It's wrong, but...I'd trade any number of people for one of ours any day."

Hershel gently grabbed Glenn's hand through the fence to offer some form of comfort. He smiled weakly at the older man before he wandered to the gate to reach the cell block, aiming to find Rick and speak with him. He wandered into the cell block and was met by the mixed crying of Eren and Lori's baby. Carl held his sister close as he tried to shush her while Beth hugged Eren. He passed the miserable kids with a quick wave as he stepped into the tombs.

He carefully passed multiple decimated walker bodies as he shined his flashlight through the darkness. He lifted his gun up as he got closer to the boiler room Maggie and Carl said they hid out in and frowned at the increase in walker bodies he found. Glenn stalled when the turned the corner and caught sight of a blood-soaked Rick gripping an ax in his right hand.

"Rick?" He muttered as he slowly approached the leader. "Everybody's worried about you. You shouldn't be in here." The ex-sheriff craned his head towards Glenn and eyed him as if he had never seen him before, "Rick, come on. You don't have to do this all by yourself. The cell blocks all cleared, we'll just close off all the doors again," He took a step closer to the panting man. "Rick, just come on out with me."

He lightly touched the man's chest and Rick violently swung him into the wall. Glenn grunted as his breath was knocked out of his lungs and fearfully eyed the crazed man. Rick gazed into the Korean man's eyes before he flung him off the wall and threw a bundled piece of fabric at him from his left hand. Glenn felt a chill down his spine as he recognized the dark green flannel shirt that Airianna was wearing earlier that day.

Rick lamely gestured at the shirt, "Daryl needs to know." He then stormed back down the hall towards the boiler room, leaving Glenn alone in the carnage he had left behind. Glenn mournfully picked up his friend's bloody shirt and brought it back with him as he exited the tombs.

As he reentered the block Carl and Beth moved towards him, but the boy stopped in his tracks when he noticed the shirt in Glenn's grip, "Where'd you find that?"

"Rick gave it to me," Glenn whispered. "He found it somewhere in the tombs."

Beth frowned, "What do we tell Daryl when he gets back?"

"The truth," Carl responded.

She tilted her head in agreement, "Glenn could you hold Eren for a sec?"

"I don't know Beth, you're better with him," Glenn stumbled as he tried to think of an excuse.

"He just won't stop crying," Beth begged. "I can't handle both of them. She's just hungry, but maybe you can get him to stop."

Glenn opened his arms and the teenager passed the toddler. Eren's wailing lessened once he was in Glenn's arms and the occupants in the room sighed in relief. The man smiled at the boy as he wiped the tears off his small face and moved him to keep his left arm clutching Airi's shirt.

Eren made grabbing movements at Glenn, "Want mama," He fussed more when Glenn remained quiet. "Want mama. Mama!" He flinched as Eren wailed in his ear harshly.

"It's...It's okay Eren," He stuttered out. "We'll find your mom, I promise." He dropped the fabric in his free hand onto one of the tables and enveloped Eren with both his arms.

The child sniffled, "Fia?" Glenn cringed at the boy's name for Sophia, who they had also yet to find.

"No...just pizza boy," Glenn reluctantly replied. Eren poked Glenn's face with his chubby hand before he started to squish the man's cheeks together. Glenn leaned away from his tiny palms, but relaxed when the toddler let out a large yawn. "Finally wore yourself out."

Beth came back into the common room and he passed the now sleepy child over to him, "Thanks, Glenn."

"No problem," He swept from the room before she would ask more from him and moved to the guard tower he cleared with Maggie to go on watch. He closed his eyes once he sat at the top and tried to listen to the things around him. He could hear Axel and Oscar still digging the graves, the distant growling of walkers, Hershel hopping around on his crutches, and the cellblock door opening. He figured Hershel went inside to join Beth and Carl. He let his thoughts wander as the day disappeared and night fell over the prison.

How the hell would he tell Daryl his wife was gone? Would he expect more than her shirt? Would he snap like Rick?

The revving of the motorbike's engine pulled Glenn from his woes and he called down to the inmates by the gate, "They're back!"

Axel and oscar distracted the walkers by the outer gate so Maggie and Daryl could slip in quickly. He flew down the tower and gripped Maggie tight when she hopped off the bike. He then quickly led then inside and Maggie ran in with the powdered formula to prepare some with Beth. Daryl motioned for the crying baby and Carl reluctantly passed her into his arms.

"How she doin'?" He asked softly. Carl shrugged his shoulders and watched in awe as Daryl swaddled the infant close to him, calming her slightly until Maggie passed him a bottle of milk. He then lifted it gently to her lips, smiling when she began to suckle on the nutrients. "Come on, come on."

The group collectively sighed at the silence that washed over the room. Daryl looked up at his friends with happiness caked on his face as he fed the small child, recalling his past memories of doing the same to Eren.

"She got a name yet?"

Carl shook his head, "Not yet. I was thinking maybe...Sophia?"

Daryl scoffed, "Calling two girls Sophia will get old pretty quick," He glanced at the group, hoping to see mirth on their faces but narrowed his eyes at the sadness and guilt floating in their eyes. "What is it?"

"We haven't found Sophia yet," Glenn shamefully admitted. "Rick found…"

"Rick found what?" He snapped back.

"We could name her Lori," Carl cut in to diffuse the tension. "Or Carol, Andrea, Jacqui, Amy, Patricia,...Airianna? I don't know."

"Not namin' her after my wife, Airi'll only like a middle name matching," Daryl grunted. He turned away from the sorrowful looks from the group and back to the little girl. "Yeah...You like that? Huh? Little ass-kicker. Right? That's a good name, right?"

Carl and a few other chuckled at his joke.

"You like that, sweetheart?" He muttered to the baby as he rocked her in his arms. Beth then stepped forward and motioned to the girl so she could hold her as well. Daryl painstakingly moved the infant into the teenager's arms, reminding her to burp her once she was done eating. He nodded to the group and moved towards the cells to check on his child when a familiar shirt caught his eye. He could feel the air grow tense as he lifted his wife's shirt up with his fingertips.

"Rick found it," Hershel gently said. "Out in the tombs."

"Found a body?"

"Daryl," Glenn whispered. "There were so many walkers...We may not find one."

The hunter gripped Airi's shirt so tight his knuckles started to pale, "We'll find one." He then tossed the fabric to the ground in disgust. He strode from the common room and jumped up the stairs to his family's room, going to his knee when he caught Eren sleeping soundly on the little bed Airi made for him. He laid down next to his little man and leaned his head against his, silently letting his tears fall.

The next morning he woke his boy up before the others and carried his sleepy form out of the cellblock and out to the fields. He wandered the grass as he searched for his prize and gently picked a small bouquet when he found them. He laid the small bunch of baby's breath and Cherokee roses by one of the small graves.

"We'll find her, buddy. One way or another," He whispered to Eren.

He then shuffled back inside and grabbed some of the fruit Beth was mixing together. He sat on one of the metal tables as he hand-fed his tired son. He watched as the others clambered into the room as well to join Eren in eating breakfast. Carl waved at the little boy in Daryl's arm as he collected his own food. The group silently ate their portions as they sat in silence, but many paused in their eating when Rick slowly walked from the tombs into the cell block.

Daryl eyed the unhinged man with apprehension, "Everybody okay?"

Maggie nodded at their leader's words, "Yeah, we are."

"What about you?" Hershel asked.

"I cleared out the boiler block," He absently admitted.

"How many were there?" Daryl quietly asked.

Rick shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. A dozen, two dozen? I have to get back. Just wanted to check on Carl."

"Rick we can handle taking out the bodies," Glenn offered. "You don't' have to."

"No, I do," He argued. "Everyone have a gun and a knife?"

Daryl nodded his head as he shifted his grip on Eren, "Yeah, we're runnin' low on ammo, though."

"Maggie and me were planning on making a run this afternoon," Glenn added. "Found a phone book with some places we can hit, look for bullets and formula."

"Cleared out the generator room yesterday," Ruck turned to the hunter. "Axel's there trying to fix it in case of emergency. We're gonna sweep the lower levels as well."

"Good, good."

He suddenly strode out of the room, leaving the group alone once more as he made his way back to the boiler room. Daryl sighed at his grief and hoped their sweep through the prison halls would give him some hope or peace of mind. He waited for Eren to finish his munching to get ready for the sweep. Hershel rose to go speak with Rick while Beth came up to Daryl and offered her arms to collect Eren.

He sniffed at the blonde, "What?"

"I can watch him, and Carl's sister," She suggested. "While you clear the halls."

He grudgingly passed the boy over to Beth, kissing him on his small forehead and ruffling his hair as the girl wrapped her arms around his body. He settled in her arms, and Daryl signaled to Oscar and Carl to prep for their job. He collected his crossbow and his hunting knife and waited at the barred door to the tombs for the inmate and Rick's son. They both met up with him at the door and they quickly descended into the depths of the prison.

The trio moved through the halls, passing through D block and into the solitary block. They scanned the dead bodies left in the wake of the previous day, double-checking each one they passed. Oscar gestured to a door slightly swinging, but a heavy walker body blocked it from opening fully, "Must have missed it."

Daryl shrugged as he kept his eyes on the ground for any signs of their missing group members, "It's probably just one or two of 'em. Don't look they got much fight," He stepped away from the inching door to glance further down the hall. "We'll take care of it on our way back." He whistled at Carl, who had been absently leaning against a nearby wall. The boy jumped slightly but fell into step with the Dixon. He spared the boy a look as they slowly turned the corner, "You know, my mom, she liked her wine. She liked to smoke in bed. Virginia Slims." Carl furrowed his brow at the man's words, "I was playing out with kids in the neighborhood. I could do that with Merle gone, and Airi hadn't moved just yet. They had bikes, I didn't. We heard sirens gettin' louder."

The boy looked to the ground as Daryl continued.

"They jumped on their bikes, ran after it. You know, hopin' to see something worth seein'," He explained as he peered at the empty cells around him. "I ran after them, but I couldn't keep up. I ran around a corner and saw my friends lookin' at me. Hell, I saw everybody lookin' at me. Fire trucks everywhere. People from the neighborhood. It was my house they were there for." He motioned for Carl to pause as he dipped his head around the corner and found three dead walkers near another door leading to a new section of the prison, "It was my mom in bed burnt down to nothin'. That was the hard part. You know, she was just gone. Erased. Nothin' left of her. People said it was better that way."

Daryl locked eyes with Carl, "Just made it seem like it wasn't real, you know?"

Carl sighed, "I shot my mom. She was out. Hadn't turned yet. I ended it, it was real," He glanced away from the hunter. "Sorry about your mom."

He grunted, "I'm sorry about yours."

They moved through the hall but paused when Oscar slipped into one of the cells, "Now that's what I'm talking about."

"What you need slippers for?" Daryl asked.

"You know, relaxing. Putting your feet up at the end of the day," He joked.

A sound behind Daryl drew the awareness of all three of the males and they all fired on the walker stumbling towards them. Daryls' bow hit its mark and the corpse fell to the ground, finally dead. Daryl kicked the thing's leg but stalled when he noticed a small knife stuck into the neck of the creature.

"That's Sophia's knife."

Carl's face brightened at the mention of the blonde girl and asked where it came from," Must be from down the hall," Oscar replied. "Whole other half of the prison is down there."

The three spent the next few minutes combing through the rest of the tombs, Carl glumly giving up and stating they turn back when they reached the door labeled 'Administration' with still no sign of his friend. He muttered how there were too many walkers behind them for Sophia to make it past them by herself. Daryl ignored his depressed mutter but conceded anyway. He sent Carl back to C block and he worked with Oscar to move the dead bodies out of the halls one at a time. Dragging took most of the daylight and they decided to burn the pile the next morning to avoid detection from the walkers past the fence. He wandered back to the tombs for a final sweep, letting Oscar turn in and grab some dinner. He waited until the tall man had gone back to C block before he slipped into the tombs through the door he had seen T-Dog drag Sophia and Airi through the past day. He started to track the path the three took, hoping to find a better sign than Airi's shirt. Some definitive proof of her survival or demise.

He passed through a set of double doors and turned a few corners to where they found T-Dog's body. He glanced around and passed through a metal door down the corner passed the man's body, assuming he threw himself at the walkers to give the girls a fighting chance. He caught sight of a broken bracelet on the ground he recognized as Sophia's and he swung his head around to eye the fork in the hall. He walked to the left hall, closer to wear the bracelet had dropped but groaned when he ended up back near the solitary cells.

He grunted at the still swinging cell door in the hall when his body tensed.

He slumped to the floor outside of the swinging door and allowed his tears to fall down his face as he fiddled with the pocketknife he gave the small girl during the winter. He should have protected her better. He should have been there for her and Airi. What if they were both in there?

The swinging continued and he growled at the haunting noise, flinging to his feet to find out once and for all. Hel steeled his nerves as he closed in on the door, shoving the dead body blocking the door away. He gripped the handle with his hand, slamming it open with his knife raised.

He froze when the slumped form of Sophia entered his vision, her tired eyes looking up at him. He lowered his blade and lightly gripped her chin, smiling when she weakly turned up the corners of her lips. Daryl swept the small girl into his arms and gently carried her back to the cell block. Beth gasped in surprise when he walked through the doorway with the blonde girl and led him to their shared cell. He placed her down on the lower bunk and she leaned into his touch before she succumbed to sleep.


	23. Chapter 23

Daryl raised his brows when Hershel, Carl, and Rick came running into the cell block carrying a mysterious African American woman. He watched as Rick laid her down her by the small barred off area in the common room.

"She's not coming into the cell block," Rick said to his son while Beth brought him a bottle of water. "Hey, here we go." He poured some of the water on the woman as she panted from exhaustion, "Who are you?" He shoved her sword away from his grasp when she began to reach for it, "We're not going to hurt you unless you try something stupid first, alright?"

"Rick," The leader turned his gaze to Daryl. "Who the hell is this?"

"You want to tell us your name?" Rick asked. When the woman continued her silence along with her glaring Rick asked once more, "You want to tell us your name?"

"Y'all come on in here," Daryl said to release the tension in the room. "You're gonna wanna see this."

Rick nodded to Hershel, "Go ahead, Carl get the bag." The boy grabbed the supplies the woman was carrying with her and followed Hershel and Daryl into the cell block. Rick picked up her weapon as Hershel and Carl started making their way further into the block, "We'll keep this safe and sound. The doors are all locked. You'll be safe here. And we can treat your leg."

The woman finally broke her silence, "I didn't ask for your help."

"Doesn't matter," Rick muttered as he walked away. "Can't let you leave."

Daryl slammed the barred door shut behind him and locked the woman in, He then gestured to the cell Beth was standing near and Rick and Carl slowly made their way to the door.

Carl beamed as he caught sight of his friend, "Sophia!"

The little girl sat up in the bed and smiled at Carl and Rick. Carl launched himself at her and hugged her tightly, and she spared a happy look at Rick from over Carl's heaving shoulder.

"Thank God," Rick muttered as hey watched the children's happy reunion. "Thank God."

Sophia pulled away from Carl and moved to wrap her arms around Hershel, "How?"

"Solitary," She whispered. "Airi told me to hide there."

"Poor thing fought her way into a cell," Daryl explained as the child was passed around for more hugs. "Must have passed out. Dehydrated."

Sophia laughed when Eren came rushing up to her on his little feet and she happily pulled him into her arms, "Fia! Fia!"

She loosened her grip on the boy when she noticed Beth carrying a newborn baby. She watched as the teen lowered her arms slightly to give her a better look at the little girl. She turned back to Rick and Carl, but when she caught their sorrowful looks she sniffled at the thought of losing Lori. She gazed around the room and she started to sniffle more when she noticed a few missing faces.

"Where's Airi?"

Daryl tensed and turned his eyes to the ground, "Still lookin' for her."

"Oh," She let out. She suddenly started to sob at the vast feeling of loss and Carl pulled her trembling form back into his arms as he held back his tears.

Rick patted Daryl on the arm and motioned for the other father to join him back with the newcomer. They both moved past their group members and through the doorway once more and Darly noted Hershel had followed after them, "We can tend to that wound for you, give you a little food and water, and then send you on your way." The woman kept her face stoic at the three men facing her. "But you're gonna have to tell us how you found us and why you were carrying formula."

She sighed as she remained eye contact with the leader, "The supplies were dropped by a young Asian guy with a pretty girl."

"What happened?"

Hershel moved closer, "Were they attacked?"

She shook her head, "They were taken."

"Taken? By who?" Daryl pressed.

"By the same son of a bitch who shot me," She snapped back.

Rick leaned down to meet her eye, "Hey, these are our people. You tell us what happened now."

She flailed as Rick gripped her injured leg, "Don't you ever touch me again!"

"You better start talkin'," Daryl advised as he raised his crossbow to her face. "You're gonna have a much bigger problem than a gunshot wound."

She sneered at the hunter, "Find them yourself."

"Shh, shh, shh, put it down," Rick ordered to Daryl. "You came here for a reason."

She rolled her eyes, but relented, "There's a town. Woodbury. About seventy-five survivors. I think they were taken there."

Rick raised his brows, "A whole town?"

She nodded, "It's run by this guy who calls himself the 'Governor'...Pretty boy, charming, Jim Jones type."

"He got muscle?" Daryl asked.

"Paramilitary wannabes," She replied. "They have armed sentries on every wall."

"You know a way in?"

"The place is secure from walkers," She mentioned. "But we could slip our way through."

The leader sniffed, "How'd you know how to get here?"

"They mentioned a prison," She said in reference to Glenn and Maggie. "Said which direction it was in, that it was a straight shot."

"This is Hershel," Ruck introduced the vet. "The father of the girl who was taken. He'll take care of that."

Rick wandered back to the cells with Daryl, leaving the woman alone with the older man to treat her leg wound. Hershel quietly stitched up the graze wound while she kept a close eye on the young boy who was standing by the door with his hand by his gun.

She glanced up at the older man as he finished his stitching, "Thank you."

Carl watched as Hershel packed up his medical supplies and let him back into the block to join the conversation the rest were having.

"How do you know we can trust her?" Oscar wondered.

Beth shook her head, "This is Maggie and Glenn. Why are we even debating?"

"We ain't," Daryl joined in. "I'll go after them."

"Well, this place sounds pretty secure," Rick muttered. "You can't go alone."

"I'll go," Beth said.

Axel stepped forward, "Me too."

"I'm in," Oscar added.

Rick nodded in agreement but caught Beth's arm as she started to move with the rest of the group, "I need you here. You're father and Sophia are still injured. And Eren and the baby need to be looked after." The girl sighed but reluctantly accepted when Rick was suggesting.

He then moved to join Daryl and Oscar as they collected the bags of weapons, motioning to the woman to follow them as they moved out of the cell blocks and to the cars. She rolled her eyes, but rose from her seat and joined them outside.

Daryl opened up the trunk to the green car and tossed the bag in, "I got the flashbangs and I got the tear gas. You never know what you're gonna need." He stepped back from the car and tossed on his angel vest Merle and Airi had given him for his birthday many years ago. He waved his hand at Carl as he helped in loading supplies for the rescue mission, "Hey, don't worry about your old man. I'm gonna keep my eye on him."

Carl smiled at the hunter, "And I'll keep my eye out for Airianna." The two clasped their hands together in a mutual agreement.

The woman eyed the private conversation before she approached the blonde teen as she pushed open the inner gate leading to the fields, "Wasn't this place overrun?"

"It was," Beth agreed.

She snorted, "And you cleared it out all by yourselves? Just the few of you?"

"There were others," The woman glanced away as the girl muttered. She watched the girl move back towards the group leader and collect the small baby girl from his arms. She also watched as the redneck hunter set another young child down next to the younger girl's feet and looked on in disbelief as the boy babbled on about him being his 'dada.'

Rick eyed the mystery woman as he pulled Carl to the side to speak away from listening ears, "What you did for mom-"

"I had to."

"Yeah, I...I know," Rick gently replied. "I know, and I'm sorry. No one should have to go through that."

Carl looked away, "How long will you be gone?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "look if something happens while we're gone-"

"We'll be alright," Carl insisted.

He nodded at his son, "If anything happens, you get everyone locked in the cells, keep them safe."

"I will."

"I know. I know you will," He rubbed his arm. "Take care of your sister, alright?"

Rick started to walk fo, but Carl's voice made him pause, "Daryl's been calling her Ass-kicker."

The leader chuckled, "Ass-kicker? Has he, now?"

"I've been thinking, what should we really call her?"

"Well, what do you think?" Rick asked.

Carl paused, "Remember my third-grade teacher, Mrs. Mueller?" His father absently nodded at the question. "Her first name was Judith. Do you think that's a good name?"

Rick smiled, "I think that's a fine name. Judith it is." He wrapped his arm around Carl's shoulders and walked with him up to the car.

Daryl paused next to Beth and Sophia, "Stay safe Soph."

She smiled, "I will, got Eren to watch my back."

"Damn straight," He jokingly answered.

Daryl hopped into the back of the car as Hershel shared some final words with Rick as he got into the driver's seat. They then drove off, leaving the rest of the group behind so they could save Glenn and Maggie. He stayed quiet in the car next to Oscar as he eyed the mysterious woman in the passenger seat. She pointed to the roads to take and Rick followed her directions carefully, slowing down slightly when they drove past the superstore Glenn and Maggie were snatched from.

"Shouldn't be much longer," The woman muttered.

Daryl nodded his head, "Good."

Daryl glanced out the window at the passing trees, trying to focus on the present instead of his thoughts. The ride didn't last much longer and the woman motioned for them to pull over on the side of the road.

"They have patrols. We're better off on foot," She insisted.

"How far? Night's coming," Rick noted.

She tightened the strap on her sword, "It's a mile, maybe two."

The four clambered from the car and equipped themselves with the items they had. Once they were all set on weapons and distractions they slipped through the brush of the forest to remain undetected.

Rick slowed down to walk next to Daryl, "I know what you did for me, for my baby while I was...Working things out. Thank you."

The Dixon male shrugged, "It's what we do, sides you would do the same if it were me."

The growling of multiple walkers caught their ears and they dropped to the ground, signaling to the other two to drop as well. They attacked as many of the incoming monsters as they could, but when they started to get outnumbered Rick led them through an opening in the dead mass and they sprinted through the woods.

They ran into a clearing and Rick gestured to the lone house in the field, "In there, come on."

The slammed the door open and quickly sealed it shut behind them. Daryl took in the hunting cabin and cringed at the foul odor in the building, "The smell, it's loud." He covered his face with his hand for a second before he sneaked further into the small house. Rick shined a light on a decomposing animal near the fireplace.

"What the hell is that?' Oscar asked.

"It's got to be a fox or what's left of one," Daryl guessed. He stopped when the light came closer to it and revealed a small dog. "I guess Lassie went home."

Daryl jumped when the walkers slammed into the front of the house, but Rick's quiet whistle drew him towards the bed in the room. He motioned Daryl over and the hunter glared at a lump under the covers. Rick flung the bedsheet off and a poorly dressed man jumped from his sleeping area with a loaded gun in his hand, aiming at the leader of the prison group.

"Who the hell are you?"

Rick lowered his weapon slightly, "We don't mean any harm."

The man snapped at Rick, "Get the hell outta my house!"

"Okay, okay, okay," Rick whispered, hoping the man would catch on and lower his volume. "We will, but we can't right now."

"Now!"

The woman glared at the stupid man, "Shut him up."

"Get out right now!" He continued to yell, riling up the walkers more.

Rick shook his head, "There are walkers outside."

The man looked at the group with confusion, "I'll call the cops!"

"I am a cop," Rick hissed. "Now I need you to lower your gun. Don't do anything rash. Everything's fine. Let's just take this nice and slow, okay?"

"Show me your badge," The man ordered as he cocked his rifle at Rick.

"Alright," Rick slowly muttered. "It's in my pocket. It's in my pocket. Now I'm just going to reach down nice and slow." He lowered his hand, but as the man was distracted he swung his other arm and shoved the rifle away as the gun went off. Daryl jumped out of the way of the bullet and watched as Rick wrapped his arms tightly around the crazed man. "Shut up," Rick snapped as the man continued to scream.

The man bit Rick's hand and wiggled free, running to the front door in the hope to escape, "Help! They've found me!" He grasped the door handle and was about to turn it when a blade went through his chest.

The mystery woman pulled her sword from his body and watched him slip to the ground. She stepped over the body and glanced out the window instead of looking at the other survivors in the room.

Daryl joined her in looking out the window and frowned at the number of walkers piled up outside, "Ever heard of the Alamo?" He jokingly asked.

"Here," Rick responded. "Help me with him." Daryl grabbed the body in the room with Rick and hauled the dead man to his feet. The woman picked up on what they were doing and stood by the door with her hand on the doorknob.

"You gotta be kidding," Oscar groaned.

"He's dead, check the back," Rick answered.

Oscar turned to the back door and nodded once he looked out the window, "It's clear."

"Okay. One, two, three!" Rick and Daryl shoved the body forward right as the woman swung open the door and the walkers scrambled to reach their new food source. She quickly shut the door again and followed the men as they snuck out the back of the cabin.

The newcomer led them away from the infested cabin and further through the woods. They began to pass multiple buildings and houses after they reached the edge of the treeline, but paused and pointed ahead of her position. Rick and Daryl peered past the corned they were behind and observed the makeshift wall blocking off a block or so of buildings in this area of the decaying town. The buildings past the wall were obtusely clean and preserved and the wall heavily manned with other survivors. She waved her hand and they followed her tracks as she slipped up close to the wall, stopping behind a dead car.

Rick eyed the guards on the wall but cursed under his breath when the woman ran off, "Okay we need to downsize." He and the other two lessened their load to the bare essential weapons.

"We can't check every building, not with all them guards there," Daryl pointed out.

A twig snapped behind them and they swung their weapons around but stalled when the woman returned and motioned for them to follow after her. They followed after her until they reached a thin gap in the side of the wall and snuck in one by one. They kept to the shadows as they moved through the picturesque town before they hid in one of the outer buildings.

They did a quick sweep and relaxed slightly at the absence of humans, "This is where you were held?" Rick asked as he observed the storeroom.

"I was questioned," She corrected.

"Any idea where else they could be?" She shook her head.

Daryl grunted as he looked out the window, "I thought you said there was a curfew."

"The streets are packed during the day," She defended. "Those are stragglers."

"If anyone comes in here, we're sitting ducks," Rick pointed out. "We gotta move."

"They could be in his apartment," She slyly suggested.

"Yeah?" What if they ain't?" The hunter asked.

"Then we'll look somewhere else."

Rick strode up to the woman, "You said you could help us."

"I'm doing what I can," She snapped back.

"Then where the hell are they?" Oscar whispered.

Rick motioned to Oscar and Daryl and pulled them aside while the swordswoman kept a lookout, "If this goes south, we're cutting her loose."

Oscar furrowed his brow, "You think she's leading us into a trap?"

Daryl huffed, "Right now it's the blind leading the blind. Let's split up."

Knocking on the door cut their conversation off and everyone ducked to the floor. The small group quickly hid when a key slipped into the door's lock and it swung open. An older man walked into the building and shut the door behind him, "I know you're in here. I saw you moving from outside," He wandered further into the room, casually peering around. 'Alright now, you're not supposed to be in here and you know it. Who's in here?"

The man was suddenly slammed into the wall by Rick and froze when a gun met his head, "Shut up. Get on your knees. Hands behind your back." The man got shoved to the ground by Daryl, "Zip tie him." The others restrained the Woodbury resident while Rick continued to hold him at gunpoint, "Where are our people?"

"I don't know," He said.

"You are holding some of our people. Where the hell are they?"

He started to shake, "I don't know."

Rick eyed the man, "Open your mouth," He quickly stuffed a rag into the man's mouth as a makeshift gag. He tried to mumble through the gag but was quickly knocked out by Daryl's crossbow. Oscar dragged the unconscious man to the back of the building and hid him under a table. A loud bout of gunshots went off outside and the group heard the rushing of the guards as they ran to investigate the noise.

"We need to go now before more people come looking," Rick ordered. He led the small group out into the town. He and the others slipped through the edge of town until they came across a building unlike the rest of the multiple townhouses. The building resembled a small warehouse and the muffled sound of fighting drew them towards it. Daryl picked the lock to the side door and the tiptoed through the halls, speeding up when they caught the familiar voices of Glenn and Maggie crying out.

Rick stopped at a corner and signaled to Daryl and Oscar as he watched a small group of men drag two prisoners down the other hall. Daryl twisted a cap off of one of the flashbangs and tossed it into the other hall, waiting for it to go off before they swarmed the other men and grabbed maggie and Glenn away from their grasps. The two weakened members of their group smiled through the smoke as they were pulled away to safety.

They slipped back onto the street and kept their heads low as they shuffled past a small group of guards. Rick lifted Glenn higher as he slipped in his grip and motioned to another empty building, "Inside, quick."

Everyone stumbled into the building except the woman, who shut the door behind them to keep them hidden. Glenn fell to the ground and Maggie rushed to his side, "Rick, how did you find us?" Maggie asked.

"How bad are you hurt?" The leader replied back.

Glenn grimaced, "I'll be all right."

Maggie paused when she noticed the missing member, "Where's that woman?"

Rick cursed under his breath, "She was right behind us."

"Want me to go look for her?" Daryl offered.

"No," Rick denied. "We gotta get them out of here. She's on her own."

Maggie shifted Glenn to sit up as she tossed a blanket around his shoulders, "Daryl, this was Merle," Glenn gasped out. "It was. He did this."

"You saw him?" Rick asked.

"Face to face. He threw a walker at me. He was gonna execute us."

The hunter froze at the mention of his older brother, "S-so my brother's this governor?"

Maggie shook her head, "No, it's somebody else. Your brother's his lieutenant or something."

"Does he know we're still with you?" He pressed.

"He does now," Glenn shamefully muttered. "Rick, I'm sorry. We told him where the prison was. We couldn't hold out."

"Don't. No need to apologize," Rick insisted. He moved back to the window and peeked his head through the curtain.

"They're gonna be looking for us," Maggie noted.

Rick nodded in agreement, "We have to get back. Can you walk? We got a car a few miles out." Glenn nodded and slowly got to his feet, groaning as he did so.

"Hey, if Merle's around, I need to see him," Daryl stated.

"Not now," Rick hissed. "We're in hostile territory."

"He's my brother. I ain't-"

"Look at what he did!" Rick snapped. "Look, we gotta get out of here now."

Daryl shook his head, "Maybe I can talk to him. Maybe I can work something out."

"No, no, no. You're not thinking straight. Look no matter what they say, they're hurt. Glenn can barely walk. How are we gonna make it out if we get overrun by walkers and this governor catches up to us? I need you," He watched as the hunter sighed. "Are you with me?" Daryl nodded his head but refused to meet Rick's eye.

Rick grabbed two of the flashbangs and tossed them out the door, waiting until the smoke offered enough cover before he ran out to layout some cover fire so the rest of the group could leave the building. He aimed at the guards on the wall as they ran towards it, keeping Maggie and Glenn in the middle of the group to protect them.

"Behind you!" Daryl yelled as he fired at some of the men coming up behind them.

"Get cover!" Rick yelled as they jumped into brick doorways to avoid the bullets. "How many?"

"I didn't see!" Oscar yelled back.

Daryl reloaded his gun, "Don't matter. There's gonna be more of 'em. We need to move."

Rick looked around the area, "Any grenades left?" Daryl nodded. "Get them ready. We gotta make a run for the wall."

Daryl passed the grenades to Rick, "You guys go ahead. I'm gonna lay down some cover fire."

"No, we gotta stay together," Maggie argued.

He shook his head as he cocked his gun, "Too hairy. I'll be right behind you. Ready?" He tossed another canister of flashbangs out into the street before he started to shoot at the line of men hiding behind park benches and other doorways.

The others ran while firing on the Woodbury group and once they reached a bus against the wall Oscar jumped up to help get Glenn over the wall. Rick and Maggie continued to fire at the smoke, hoping to keep the other men at bay so Daryl could safely cross the area. A bullet landed in Oscar's shoulder and he fell off the bus. Glenn yelled for him, but Maggie continued to yell at him to climb the wall as she ran to Oscar's fallen form.

"Rick! Rick!" Maggie yelled for their leader as she tried to keep the bullet wound from bleeding, but her attempt was in vain. She put a bullet in Oscar's head to end his pain and started to climb the bus to reach where Glenn was at the top of the wall.

Rick ran after Maggie and started to climb the bus, "Daryl!"

"Go!" The Dixon man yelled back as he continued to fire on the smoke covered crowd.

Rick reluctantly jumped the wall and landed on the other side near Maggie and Glenn, taking off towards the car hoping Daryl would be right behind him. They ran away from the town and only slowed once the sound of gunshots had left their ears and the sounds of the woods had taken its place. Rick then backtracked them to the broken car near where they first entered Woodbury, pausing to let the injured couple breathe as they waited for their final group member.

"Come on, Daryl," Rick whispered as he watched the new guards on the wall scope the area outside the wall in a weak attempt to search for them. He heard rustling behind them and turned, but frowned when the mystery woman slipped past the treeline and up to where they were hiding. "Where the hell were you?" Rick pressed. "Put your hands up," She raised her arms at the sight of Rick's gun in her face. "Turn around. Turn around." She turned and allowed the man to pull her sword from its sheath.

She relaxed when he lowered his weapon, "Where are the rest of your people?"

"They got Oscar," Glenn hissed.

"Daryl is missing. You didn't see him?" Maggie asked.

"If anything happens to him-" Rick threatened.

"I brought you here to save them," She said as she motioned to the other two people.

"Thanks for the help," Rick muttered sarcastically.

"You'll need help to get them back to the prison," She pointed out. "Or to go back in there for Daryl. Either way, you need me."

He glared but relented and passed her weapon back to her. She nodded and waited for his call. Rick turned back to Glenn and Maggie, "We're going back in, but Glenn you have to go to the car and wait. And you are going with him," The swordswoman nodded her head.

"Hell no, Rick," He growled.

"You can barely stand. This is not a suggestion," Glenn groaned and started to make his way back to the car with the female hot on his tail.

Maggie followed Rick as he snuck back into the gap in the wall. The duo snuck through the town as they followed the ground words of one of the townspeople giving a speech. As they got closer to an area that resembled an arena of sorts they saw Merle and Daryl back to back in the middle surrounded by walkers. They lined up near the side as they watched the pair of brothers fight the circle of walkers while the town members jeered and laughed at the spectacle.

Rick aimed his weapon at one of the people pushing the walkers closer and fired, killing them instantly with a headshot. Maggie joined him in firing on the walkers and their handlers as the townspeople screamed and started to run from the area, creating a bigger distraction for Daryl to escape. They tossed tear gas at the crowd and shot at the lights to distract them, and Rick waved down Daryl with his flashlight as the man knocked out of one of the town members to steal back his crossbow.

Daryl ran up to the small group with Merle and Rick patted him on the shoulder, "Let's go."

"Come on, they're all still at the arena," Merle called out.

Rick shook his head, "You are not coming with us."

"You really gonna argue about this now?" Daryl hissed as he kept his eyes peeled for any people behind them. "Rick, come on. We gotta go," Rick groaned but allowed Merle to continue escaping with them.

They all tightened up and ran from the arena to the wall of the town, which was now empty due to the panic they created in the stadium. They easily hopped the wall and took off sprinting for the car. They took out the walkers that strayed to close to them and slowed down their running when the sun started to rise over the horizon. Passed by the cabin they hid in the previous afternoon and Rick slowed his running when he saw Glenn and the car through the trees. Maggie rushed to her boyfriend and wrapped her arms tightly around him.

"Glenn," Rick called to the man.

"Rick, oh thank God," He muttered as he pulled away from Maggie.

"Now we got a problem here. I need you to back up," Glenn and the mystery woman both glared at the older Dixon brother as he came into their line of sight.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Glenn screamed as he took out his gun.

Rick put his hands up to block the angry man, "Hey, hey, hey! Put it down!"

Maggie jumped in front of the woman to keep her from attacking Merle while the two brothers hung back slightly, "He tried to kill me!"

"If it wasn't for him Maggie could've-"

"He helped us get out of there," Daryl snapped.

"Right after he beat the shit out of you," Rick reminded.

Merle snickered at the situation, "Hey, we both took our licks, man."

Daryl scoffed, "Jackass."

"Hey, shut up," Merle yelled back.

"_Enough_!" But the screaming persisted as the woman refused to drop her blade, "Put that down now!" The leader ordered as he kept his gun on her.

Daryl glared at Glenn who still tried to aim his gun at Merle, "Get that thing out of my face!"

They arguing quieted and the older Dixon chuckled at the chaos that he caused, "Man, look like you've gone native, brother."

Daryl swung around to face him, "No more than you hanging out with that psycho back there."

"Oh yeah, man. He is a charmer, I got to tell you that," Merle laughed as he glanced to the black woman. "Been putting the wood to your girlfriend Andrea big time, baby."

"What?" Glenn gasped. "Andrea's in Woodbury?"

Daryl nodded, "Right next to the Governor."

The woman sneered at Merle and tried to charge him, but Rick once more jumped in the way, "I told you to drop that! You know Andrea?" She lowered her sword but chose to stay in silence. "Hey, do you know Andrea?"

"Yep, she does," Merle confirmed. "Her and Blondie spent all winter cuddling up in the forest. Mmmm, yeah. My Nubian queen here had two pet walkers. No arms, cut off the jaws, kept them in chains. Kind of ironic now that I think about it."

"Shut up, bro."

Merle raised his hand and prosthetic up in the air, "Hey, man, we snagged them out of the woods. Andrea was close to dying."

"Is that why she's with him?" Maggie pondered.

Merle nodded, "Yeah, snug at two little bugs. So what you gonna do now, Sheriff, huh? Surrounded by a bunch of liars, thugs, and cowards."

"Shut up!" Rick yelled at the man.

"Oh, man, look at this. Pathetic. All these guns and no bullets in them."

Daryl shoved his brother, "Merle, shut up!"

"Shut up yourself! Bunch of pussies you roll-" His yelling was cut off when Rick hit him across the head with the butt of his gun and he fell to the ground knocked out.

"Asshole."

The group rested for a moment while Daryl waited for his brother to reawaken. Once he was up and moving again, Daryl insisted he stay a few feet away while the group talked. He hoped it would avoid further fighting. He looked over to Rick, but the leader immediately shook his head when he caught the look in Daryl's eye.

"It won't work."

"It's gotta."

Rick glanced over at Merle, "It'll stir things up."

"Look, the Governor is probably on the way to the prison right now," Daryl reasoned. "Merle knows how he thinks and we could use the muscle."

"I'm not having him at the prison," Maggie muttered.

Glenn raised his brow, "Do you really want him sleeping in the same cell block as Sophia or Beth?"

Daryl glared at the Korean, "He ain't a rapist."

"Well, his buddy is."

"They ain't buddies no more. Not after last night," Daryl observed.

"There's no way Merle's gonna live there without putting everyone at each other's throats," Rick continued.

"So you're gonna cut Merle loose but bring the last samurai home with us?" The hunter asked as he gestured to the woman leaning against the car.

Rick shook his head, "She's not coming back."

"She's not in a state to be on her own," Maggie defended.

Glenn sighed, "She did bring you guys to us."

"And then ditched us," The leader reminded him.

"At least let my dad stitch her up?" Maggie offered as a compromise.

"She's too unpredictable."

"That's right, we don't know who she is," Daryl agreed. "But Merle, Merle's blood."

"No, Merle is your blood," Glenn pressed. "My blood, my family is standing right here and waiting for us back at the prison."

"And you're part of that family," Rick chimed in. "But he's not. He's not."

Daryl huffed, "Man, y'all don't know," He paused and waited for a response from the group, but frowned when he got none. "Fine. We'll fend for ourselves."

"That's not what I was saying," Glenn said.

"No him, no me."

"You can't do that Daryl," Rick hissed. "You have responsibilities."

"Yeah, like what?"

Maggie cut in, "Sophia, for one. She adores you. But most importantly your son, Daryl He just lost his mother he can't lose you too."

"Don't you dare talk like that about Airianna!" Daryl snapped. Merle walked closer to the group at the mention of his sister-in-law.

"So you would leave, just like that?" Glenn asked. "What would you want us to tell Sophia and Eren?"

"They'll understand."

"No, they won't," Rick argued. "I know how your feeling, Daryl. Believe me, I do. But you can't run away from the fact that your wife is gone and your son needs you, not his screw-up of an uncle." He glared at the man before storming towards where Merle was waiting. Maggie and Glenn called out to him as Rick followed after him, "Hey, there's got to be another way."

"No Rick, there ain't," Daryl denied. "As long as Eren will be safe with you I have nothing to go back to at the prison. Christ, every time I looked at him I'd see her. And she's the only thing that made me a good dad, so no." He glanced away. " Don't ask me to leave him, I already did that once."

Rick followed as he stopped at the car and pulled a small backpack from the trunk, "We started something last night, you know that."

Daryl shrugged his shoulders, "No him, no me. That's all I can say. I ain't leaving any part of my family alone and unprotected, never again Rick," He tossed the bag over his shoulder and slammed the trunk closed. "Tale care of yourself. Take care of little Ass-kicker...And Eren please."

Rick dumbly nodded as he watched his friend wander off towards Merle, who wore a smug smile on his face, "Daryl!" The man ignored his yelling and wrapped his arm around his brother's shoulders. He motioned the rest of the group members into the car as the Dixon brothers walked away. He caught the arm of the swordswoman before she could open one of the doors, "We patch you up and then you are gone."

She nodded and they hopped into the car and raced back to the prison, hoping the rest of their group would still be safe when they arrived.


	24. Chapter 24

Airianna groaned at the pain flying through her leg. She had been trying to stave off infection for the past day or so, she couldn't even tell how long she'd been hiding in the warden's office. Her bandage supply ran out quick and she had ripped part of her pant leg to keep the wound free of the bloody fabric and to bind it. But she knew by the swollen skin around the puncture roles that she was getting an infection, and if she didn't make her way back to the group soon she would never recover.

She struggled to her feet using the desk as leverage. She knew that her leg was weak and she was worried she would not be able to hold her own weight. But she needed to try. The moment she tried to take a step toward the door her leg gave out and she stumbled back to the ground.

"Son of a bitch!" She gripped at her leg as the injured muscles spasmed from the excessive use.

She glanced around the room and reached for an umbrella leaning on the wall near the door. She knew it would be weak but would help her support her weight and keep it off her limb. She hopped to her feet once more, keeping her injured leg bent at the knee to keep it off the ground. And with the use of the old umbrella, she inched her way out the door.

She immediately regretted her idea as she cursed in pain, her movement greatly diminished by her situation. Airi kept her eyes peeled for walkers as she inched down the hall, stopping at the corner leading to the door she ran through before. She peeked her head around the corner and groaned at the single walker shuffling in the hall from one of the rotted doors. Airi knew she should've cleared the offices, but at least it was only one walker.'

Growling from behind her startled her and she turned just in time to catch a walker trying to bite the back of her arm. She slammed her knife into its skull but unfortunately drew the attention of the other one. She scrambled away from its lumbering form, but the umbrella snapped and sent her to the ground with the walker crawling after her.

She screamed as she held back its decaying mouth from ripping into her neck, hopelessly trying to reach the knife that was just out of her reach when a hammer swung down and smashed into the back of its head. A strong hand shoved the body off of her and she was met with the form of a tall, broad-shouldered man offering his hand to her.

"Are you okay?" The stranger asked as he helped her to her feet. She nodded as she attempted to get her bearings and noticed four other people behind the man. A woman who had similar facial features to him, a sister maybe, was glaring at her while another man was holding up a very injured woman with a teenage boy standing behind them.

"Are you bit?' The woman standing upright hissed as she eyed the wrapped injury on Airianna's leg.

The red-haired woman shook her head, "Fell on some rebar."

"We don't have time for this," The man holding up the othered injured woman snapped.

The man in front of her up glared at his friend, "She needs help."

"We need help!"

"Hey!" Airi hissed, stopping the arguing between the men. "My group's in this prison. I got separated from them a few days ago. If we can get to C block they can help all of us."

The smaller man scoffed, "Why should we believe you?"

"Look if you want to stay here while more walkers come, be my guest," She answered. "But I'm going."

"Wait, wait, wait," The tall man gently placed his hand on hers. "You can barely walk. You show us to your group and we'll get you there." He turned and gave a look to his other group members and smiled when the man and fully functioning woman nodded in agreement.

"Fine, come on," Airi relented. The man stepped aside and the woman holding the shovel threw Airianna's arm around her should while she wrapped her own around the doctor's waist. She pointed to the door around the corner and the group of six moved further into the prison. "My name's Airianna by the way."

"Tyreese, and that's my sister, Sasha," The man replied. "The other two are Ben and Allen, and Allen's wife Donna."

She peered back at the panting woman in Allen's arms, "What's wrong with her?"

"She got bit," Sasha muttered.

"Did you cut off the limb?" Airi questioned. "Or was it too late for that?"

The woman next to her furrowed her brow, "What do you mean cut it off?"

She rolled her eyes, "If a person just got bit on the arm or leg, you can cut off the limb to stop the infection from spreading."

She pointed to another turn in the hall as Tyreese kept his eyes focused on any signs of walkers, "How do you know that?"

"I'm a doctor," She pulled Tyreese back when She heard shuffling in the turn ahead of them and Sasha struggled to keep her straight. "We have to go back," She whispered.

"There are walkers that were following us," Allen snapped.

Tyreese turned to loom at the other man when Donna screamed. The group turned back around to see a handful of walkers moving at them from where Airianna was trying to avoid. Tyreese started to attack them and Airi shoved Sasha's hand off of her, motioning for her to go help her brother. They took out a few more walkers before running past the rest, sprinting through the halls until they reached the generator room where they were cut off by walkers from both sides of the hall. Sasha and Tyreese went after the corpses closest to then While Donna wailed in pain and fell from Allen's grip. Her son ran to her side and Allen finally joined the other two in fighting off the walkers.

Airi grunted when a walker crawling on the ground pulled on her leg, sending her to the ground as well. She reached for her knife sheath but swore under her breath as she came up empty-handed. She instead used her good leg to kick the walker off of her as she struggled to crawl closer to where Ben was sitting with his machete laying on the ground next to him.

She reached the blade and lifted it to kill the walker lunging at her when a bullet went through its skull. She shot her head around to see Rick's son standing in the doorway with a silenced gun in his hand, "Carl?!"

"Airi?" He gasped. He looked between Eren's mother and the strangers before motioning to the hall he came from. "Come on. Hurry!"

Tyreese eyed the boy with surprise, but quickly swept the redhead into his arms and ran after the retreating figure. Sasha helped Donna back into Allen's arms as she and Ben followed the married couple after her brother. The group ran after Carl as he led them back to the cell block shooting the walkers coming at them when Allen dropped to the ground, exhausted from carrying his wife.

"You have to leave her!" Carl yelled at the man as he tried to pick her back up.

"No way!"

Tyreese passed Airi over to lean on Sasha and he rushed up to the couple, sweeping the crying woman over his shoulder and helping Allen to his feet, "I got her, come on."

They resumed their path through the tombs, passing through D block and the laundry room as they came closer to C block. Airianna groaned as Sasha dragged her onwards, but smiled all the same when she caught sight of the white arrows Glenn had spray painted to lead them through the maze of halls. Carl rapidly unlocked the barred door to the cell block and the group ran to safety, Tyreese collapsing with Donna to the ground when they finally stopped.

Carl relocked the door to keep the walkers from following, and Airianna let go of Sasha so she could go to her brother's side as Ben and Allen fell near their dying family member. Her sobs of relief mixed in the air with Donna's cries of pain as she slumped to the ground exhausted.

Carl ran to her side, but she weakly waved him off and gestured to the turning woman, "She got bit, Carl," The boy nodded and approached the ground with his gun raised.

"Oh god, Donna!" Allen wailed as she took her final breath.

Carl sighed, but cocked his gun, "I'll take care of it."

"Whoa, whoa kid," Tyreese said as he moved the gun's barrel away from Donna's head. "Wait a minute."

"She doesn't have that long."

"Who the hell are you?" Sasha snapped.

Airi panted as she pushed on the wall to get to her feet, "He's my friend, part of my group."

"Look, we can help you," Carl promised. "But first things first."

Tyreese shook his head, "No, we take care of our own."

While he and Allen debated on who should put the poor woman out before she turned, Carl walker up to Airianna's side and let her lean on him as they moved to the door separating the common room form the cells. He unlocked the door and helped the woman inside before locking it shut again, alerting Sasha's attention.

"Hey, what are you doing?" She walked over to the door to see the boy and the doctor on the other side. "Open the door."

"Kid, did you just lock us in here?" Tyreese asked from across the room.

Carl ignored their questioning when Beth walked out of a cell and froze at the sight of Airianna, "Oh my god, Daddy!" The older man hopped out of his cell on his crutches and paused when he met the other doctor's gaze.

"Airianna...Beth, get her to a bed now," He ordered when he caught sight of her bandaged leg. Beth ran to the injured woman's side and helped her limp over to the nearest cell, apologizing when she gasped in pain at each step they took.

Carl turned back to the others in the common room when he saw Hershel going into the cell after the two women, "This room is secure. You'll be safe. You have food and water."

Sasha glared at him, "Open this door."

"I can't," He denied.

The woman sighed, "Come on, man. We're not animals. Don't do this. We helped your friend, didn't we?" When he remained silent she slammed on the door, "You can't just leave us in here!"

Tyreese walked up to her and placed his hand lightly on her arm, "Sasha! Back away from their door and let the man go. Look around you. This is the best we've had it in weeks," He gestured to Carl, "His house. We got other things to do. We don't want any trouble." She nodded her head and he led her back over to their grieving group members.

The Sheriff's son waited until they had their attention back on their group before running into the cell where Hershel was working on Airianna. She laid on the bed passed out while an IV drip was attached to her left arm. Hershel sat on the bed with her injured leg in his lap as he cleaned the wounds and started to stitch them shut.

"How is she?"

Hershel glanced to the boy, "She has a slight infection from this injury, but she'll be fine now that's she's here. We're lucky we found her in time."

Carl frowned, "We didn't find her though, She found us. We didn't even look."

"Now we both know you, Oscar, and Daryl did," Hershel noted. "And you found Sophia because of that."

"But she was still out there," Carl muttered. "We gave up on her."

Hershel finished his stitches and started to wrap the wound in clean gauze, "Well it's good she didn't give up on us. She'll be out for a while, and she's heavily dehydrated. Be sure to give her lots of water when she wakes up." Carl nodded as the man rose with his crutches and left the room to inform Beth of her condition. Carl glanced at Airi before he swept from the cell and out the other door on the far end of the block.

He walked out the side door to the courtyard and wandered up to where Axel and Sophia stood on watch, "Hey, Sophia. Got something you might want to see."

Sophia quirked her brow but followed after her friend as they wandered back into C block. She slowed when she heard unfamiliar voices in the common room, but Carl grabbed her hand and pulled her to one of the empty cells. Her breath caught when she noticed Airianna sleeping on the bed and kneeled to the floor next to her, gently taking the woman's hand. She started to sniffle as she looked over the redhead's worn-out body.

"The new people found her in the tombs somehow," Carl muttered. "She cut her leg, but other than that Hershel said she'd be okay."

Sophia nodded as she jumped to her feet, "I gotta get Eren." She moved out of the cell and Carl waited for her to come back with the little toddler. The boy's guggling got louder as she came back with him on her hip and Eren squealed in happiness when Sophia brought him to Airianna's side.

"Mama, Mama!" He poked his mother's cheek with his tiny fingers and giggled as she leaned closer to him in her sleep. "Mama!"

The two children beamed at the toddler's cheers and Sophia turned her head slightly to glance at the door to the common room, "So who are they?"

"No idea just heard screaming in the tombs and I found them in the generator room," Carl explained. "One of them was bit, but I think they took care of her."

"We should let them bury her," Sophia suggested.

"In the morning," Carl agreed. "We'll let them and Airi rest for right now."

The girl nodded and carried Eren back to his bed to put him back to sleep. She slipped into Daryl and Airi's bed next to Eren and slowly fell asleep, feeling better than she had ever had in the past few days.

Noise near her side woke Airianna from her deep sleep and she groaned at the dull pain in her body. Her eyes fluttered open and she turned the corners of her lips up when she saw Hershel next to her, "Hi Hershel, how are you doing?"

The man chuckled, "I should be asking you that, judging by the hole in your leg."

She waved her hand, "Just a stupid piece of metal. How's it doing by the way?"

"Swelling went down," Hershel commented as he looked at the wound he was wrapping again in sterile bandages. "And the stitches are holding well. If you feel like it, you can join us for breakfast."

She grunted and sat up in the bed she had been placed in the previous night, trying to ignore her leg pain as she slowly got to her feet, "Guess I'm not winning any races for the time being, unlike you."

Hershel grinned at her joke as he walked with her to the common area, "I suppose not, running would only break your stitches and make recovery worse," He nodded to Carl as he opened the door for the two of them. "You're lucky it missed the bone."

Airi smiled at Carl, "Yes, I suppose so. Just happy to be breathing."

"Aren't we all," Carl chimed in as he shut the door behind them. Hershel wandered over to the newcomers and started to patch up their small wounds while Carl shuffled Airi over to the other table where Sophia and Beth were sitting with the two youngest group members, "Airianna, this is my baby sister, Judith."

Airi gave the little girl a sad smile, "Lori would've loved that name."

"I guess," Carl muttered as he scuffed his feet on the ground.

Sophia lifted Eren in her arms and once Airianna was sitting on one of the tables she passed the boy to his mother. Airianna held back tears of joy as she wrapped her arms tightly around her little boy, rocking him softly in her arms as she kissed his cheek. She glanced up at the familiar faces of the group but paused when she noticed so many of them missing.

"Where is everyone? Are they…"

Beth shook her head, "Maggie and Glenn got kidnapped by this other group so Rick, Daryl, and Oscar went to rescue them."

She breathed a sigh of relief and gave the teen a smile of acknowledgment before she turned her gaze to where Tyreese and Sasha were standing near Allen. Hershel was slowly giving the widower a small set of stitches for a gash on his leg while Ben watched the older man's every move carefully.

"You can take those stitches out yourself in a week or so," Hershel explained as he tied the finishing knot.

"Thank you," Allen muttered.

"Pretty nice having medical training," Tyreese offhandedly noted.

"It'll only get you so far," Hershel replied. "Besides, Airianna here is our main doctor."

Tyreese nodded, "Yeah she told us," He motioned to the man's leg. "You were bit?" Herschel gave a small nod and Tyreese looked away. He and Sasha shared a small look before they turned their eyes to the injured doctor and the blonde next to her holding a small infant.

"How old is the baby?" Sasha asked.

"Barely a week," Hershel responded as Beth moved to prepare some formula for Judith.

Sasha carefully walked over to the pair, "To be honest, we never thought we'd see another baby. Beautiful."

Beth smiled, "Thanks."

"How are you feeling?"

The teen stuttered, "She's not mine."

Sasha frowned, "Where's the mother?" When no one replied she glanced away. "I'm sorry."

Beth walked away and paused for Carl to let her back into the cell area so she could feed Judith privately. Tyreese watched the girl go before he turned back to the redhead still holding the other small child, "Man, you people have been through the mill."

"Haven't we all?" Airi muttered as she shifted Eren in her arms.

"It's only getting worse out there," Tyreese elaborated. "Dead are everywhere. And it's only making the living less like the living."

Sasha nodded in agreement, "You're the only decent folks we've come across."

Hershel quirked his brow, "You've been out there all this time?"

"Our neighbor Jerry, he was one of those survivalist nuts. Everybody on the block thought he was crazy. Always preparing for the end of the world," The brother said.

"Who knew?"

"Jerry knew," Tyreese continued. "He had a bunker under his shed in the backyard. Sasha and I stayed there until we ran out of supplies. Allen and Ben were the first two people we ran into when we finally crawled up out of that hole around Jacksonville."

"Long way from home," Airi muttered.

"Yeah," Sasha answered. "Used to be a bunch of us. Twenty-five at one point. Our camp was overrun six, seven weeks ago."

"And...And Donna, she, uh…" Tyreese glanced up at Allen and over to the corner of the room where her body was covered by a tarp.

"We'll see that she has a proper burial," Hershel promised.

Tyreese smiled, "I appreciate you taking care of us. For a while, we didn't know who we were dealing with."

"Neither did we," The older man agreed. "Bringing Airianna back was a good sign for us. She means a lot to our group."

Ben scoffed, "Yeah a doctor does seem pretty important."

"More than just a doctor," She said to the teenager. "My husband and son are here with this group and Sophia." She moved and wrapped her left arm around the little girl sitting next to her, "She means a lot to me. Hell, everyone does."

"And we've had our problems with people," Hershel added.

"I must be the first brother in history to break into prison," Airi and Hershel chuckled at Tyreese's joke.

Axel smirked as he brought the man a bowl of noodles, "Makes me the first white boy that didn't want to break out."

Hershel sighed, "Tyreese. Like I said, we have a much larger group. A close-knit group. I wouldn't get too comfortable here."

He then turned and crutched back to the barred door leading to the cells, "We wouldn't be a problem," Tyreese insisted.

Airianna stood from her table and motioned for Sophia to follow Hershel, "It's not up to us."

"Then who?'

"Rick, our leader," Airi supplied. "He's got us through some tight spots and his word is the final say. And I'm sorry to say but he doesn't trust quick."

She limped to the door to join the rest of her group when Tyreese called out once more, "Please, you can see what kind of people we are."

"Look, I gotta take care of Eren right now, but I'll come help with Donna," The man sighed but relented.

She carried her son over to Beth and Sophia's cell and passed the bubbly boy to the young girl before she painfully climbed the stairwell to her and Daryl's room. She shed the filthy clothes she had been in for the past few days and slipped on a clean tank top and long-sleeved shirt as well as a fresh pair of jeans. She tossed the mange pair she had ripped up outside of the cell so she would remember to throw them away. After her clothing change, she limped back to the common room and helped Allen and Tyreese carry Donna's body outside to the courtyard, Sasha and Ben trailing after them.

"Where did you say we could bury her?" Tyreese asked as they slowly lowered the body to the ground.

She pointed out to the filed where there were fresh graves from her group's members, including the two unmarked ones that were meant for her and Sophia, "Back of the field near the other graves," She stepped away from the others as she moved closer to the cell block. "I'm going to grab some shovels."

Sasha and Tyreese nod their heads as she slowly walked back into the building and collected two shovels leaning against the wall. As she came back to the courtyard she noticed Allen and Tyreese hotly glaring at each other and she quietly moved towards them to catch their conversation.

"What's your problem?"

"How about a little common decency? This isn't what we do."

"Your living in the past Ty, so are you. This is survival of the fittest, plain and simple."

Airianna dropped the shovels to the ground, shocking the four people out of their heated argument. Allen and Tyreese gave the woman fearful looks, both worried she had heard them but for different reasons.

She eyed the group, "Found the shovels."

"Thank you," Allen muttered as he moved to grab them off the ground, but Tyreese and Sasha shoved him aside and picked them up instead.

"Need any help digging?" She offered to the siblings, slightly ignoring the father-son duo.

"No, we'll manage," Tyreese replied. "Hope you feel better."

"I will. Let me know if you need anything else," She turned on her heel but paused. "Oh, Allen?"

The father rolled his eyes, "What?"

She smiled, "Next time you threaten my group I will put a bullet through your skull, and that's a promise." She walked away, leaving her threat hanging in the air over the small group of four.

She waited in the cellblock until she knew they would be busy digging before she grabbed a rifle and set herself up in the courtyard's tower to keep an eye on Ben and Allen. She trusted Tyreese and Sasha enough, but she knew the other two were clouded with guilt. Or perhaps they were just crazy. All she knew was that she would sit in the tower with her rifle aimed at the two until Rick and the others came back. She luckily didn't have to wait long as the green car reappeared up the road driving towards the prison.

She climbed down from the tower, swinging the rifle over her shoulder. As she opened the door at the bottom she noticed Tyreese, Sasha, Allen, and Bob walking back into the cellblock to attempt to avoid Rick for a little while longer. Airi glared at Allen as he walked through the door before she grinned at the car as it pulled into the courtyard. She watched as Maggie and Glenn hopped from the car and she gasped at the Korean's beat-up face.

"Glenn, holy shit," He froze at her voice and craned his neck, his mouth dropping open when he caught sight of her. She staggered over to her friend and tightly hugged him.

He froze for a moment before wrapping his arms around her, "Please tell me I'm not crazy. You're really here right?"

She pulled away and moved to pull Maggie into an equally tight hug, "Yes, I'm here."

"Thank god," Maggie breathed. "Where the hell were you hiding?"

"Administration, in the warden's office."

A noise of surprise came from behind her and she grunted when another pair of arms joined Maggie's, "Thank God you're alive."

Maggie stepped away as the doctor and leader reunited, "Were you doubting me, Mr. Grimes?"

Rick shamefully looked away from his friend, "Honestly, your bloody flannel gave us pause."

She nodded and lowered her arms back to her side, "Don't blame you. You had the rest of the group to think of," She glanced around and narrowed her eyes. "Where's Daryl? Did he hop out to help Carl by the fence?" She leaned over to gaze at the young boy guarding the fence closest to the walkers. She frowned when Rick refused to meet her gaze, "Is he dead?"

"No, no, he's alive," Rick insisted. "He...We ran into Merle."

She crossed her arms, "Merle? He's alive?"

Rick nodded, "We found him at Woodbury...and Daryl thought you were gone, so he-"

"He's gone."

"He asked me to take care of Eren, said he wanted him to stay here and be safe," Rick whispered.

"But...But he left. With Merle," Airi muttered as she processed what Rick was saying. "He left our son."

"He thinks you're dead," Rick weakly defended.

"He _left_ our son! She screamed. "You lost your wife, but you're still here for Carl and Judith. But No! Daryl left with his brother who has done nothing to ever help him. He...He left Eren. He left me." She sniffled and smacked away Rick's hand when he tried to offer comfort.

"I'm sorry."

She turned her head and stormed away from the leader, rushing into the cell block to avoid the looks of pity she got from him, Maggie, Glenn. She lept of the starts to her and Daryl's cell and collapsed to the bed, sobbing into her pillow. She paused when she heard footsteps outside the cell and raised her head to see Sophia standing outside the door with tears trailing down her cheeks. She sat up and opened her arms for the little girl and she fell into her, gripping onto the woman as her only lifeline.

Beth peeked her head in on the two, "Rick wants to talk to Tyreese and the others soon."

Airianna sighed and pulled away from Sophia, "Thank you, Beth," She groggily got up from the bed and offered her hand to the twelve-year-old.

"I'm sorry that Daryl left," Beth muttered. "We're weaker without him."

"No, we're not. He's weaker without us," Sophia rammed her shoulder into the teen as she rushed out of the cell.

"He'll find his way back," Airi quietly added as she started to walk with Beth. "Not sure if I want him too, but he won't stray far. He's not that kind of man."

Beth furrowed her brow, "Why would he go with Merle then? He sounds like a jerk."

"Men like Merle have a way of getting into your head, make you think you deserve the abuse," The mother explained.

"Even with people like Daryl?"

She nodded, "Merle only learned how to express love with anger, defensiveness. It was all Daryl was used to from his brother and father until I worked my way in."

"We thought you were dead, Daryl lost hope," Beth guessed.

"Merle was the nail on the coffin though," She conceded. "He always was the wedge between us. He's the reason we broke up before I left for college. Made Daryl think I was going to drop him like a wet rag when I got a degree."

"Will you forgive him if he comes back?"

"I'm not sure if I will _when_ he returns," She grumbled. "But that doesn't mean I won't still love him."

When she and Beth reached the common room she separated from her and sat on one of the tables, opening her arms for Sophia to sit next to her. Most of the people in the room gave the two females a wide birth until Maggie brought Eren over to his mother. She took her son from the short-haired girl, leaning her head lightly on his as she sadly glanced at his dark brown hair.

Rick watched the broken family unit with guilt churning in his gut, but attempted to ignore it to focus on the four newcomers, "I'm Tyreese."

"Sasha, Allen, Ben," Hershel introduced the rest.

"How'd you get in?" Rick started.

"Fire damage to the administration part of the prison, the wall's down," Tyreese explained. "Ran into Airianna there and she led us through the tunnels to the generator room."

The leader raised his brow, "That side's completely overrun with walkers. How'd you get this far?"

"We didn't. We lost our friend Donna."

"I found them in the generator room with Airi," Carl chimed in. "Brought them back here."

"You brought them here?" Rick asked.

"He had no choice," Hershel explained. "They had Airianna and she was severely injured. She's still healing."

Rick spared a look at the female doctor, watching for her confirmation of the story. When she rolled her eyes and nodded her head he relaxed slightly.

"I'm sorry about your friend," Rick muttered. "We know what that's like."

Tyreese glanced at Rick, "Hershel said you could use some extra hands. We're no stranger to hard work. We'll go out and get our own food, stay out of your hair. You got a problem with another group, we'll help with that, too. Anything to contribute."

Rick shook his head, "No."

"Please," Sasha pleaded. "It's like 'Ten little Indians' out there. It's just us now."

"No."

"Let's talk about this," Hershel suggested. "We can't just keep-"

"We've been through this," Rick snapped. With Tomas, Andrew. Look what happened."

"Axel and Oscar weren't like them," Airi reminded. "And Tyreese and Sasha are really good people." She ignored the glare she knew Allen was sending her.

"And where's Oscar now?" Rick posed. "I can't be responsible."

"You turn us out, you are responsible," Tyreese noted.

"Rick," He turned at Hershel's voice and stepped closer to the older man. "You've done so much for us. I appreciate that, we all do. We owe you our lives. We've done everything you asked without question. And I'm telling you, you're wrong on this. You've got to start giving people a chance."

Rick glanced at the siblings' worried faces and moved his eyes around the room, gauging the reactions of his group. Most seemed to agree with Hershel's words, but he paused on Airi as she bore her gaze into one of the people behind Sasha and Tyreese. He watched the disheveled man behind the pair glare right back at the doctor, stopping when he noticed the leader observing his actions. He sighed and reluctantly nodded his head, he could at least offer some sort of probationary period to watch the strange man's interaction with the redhead. He looked up from the ground to look at Hershel when a form behind his head drew his attention to the upper balcony in the common room.

He froze when he focused on the woman standing their drape in a white dress as she observed the scene. He shot his gaze from her, but he could still feel her eyes burning into him, "No, no. No, no, no, no, no." He shook his head as he continued to mutter and glance at the balcony, and Airianna grimaced as she watched the confused look forming on Rick's face, "Why are you here? What do you want from me?"

She rose from her seat when Rick strode past their group to stand under the empty balcony. Carl carefully stepped closer to his father when he noticed his movement as well, "Dad?"

"Why are you, no-" He continued to keep his gaze locked on the same spot on the balcony as if he was talking to somebody standing there. "I can't help you. Get out!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Tyreese whispered when Rick swung around and started moving closer to him and Sasha.

"Get...Get out!"

"Whoa, it's all good," He tried to allay the frustrated man.

"What are you doing?" Sasha hissed to her brother.

"Rick," Airi calmly said as she moved closer to the man, lifting her free arm towards him. "There's nothing-"

"There's nothing to worry about," Maggie cut her off as she placed her hand on Rick's arm. The leader instantly jumped back as if he was scalded by water.

"You don't belong here! Get out! Please!" He whipped out his gun and waved it at the stop her was fixated on and everyone jumped away from him. "Get out! Get out!"

Tyreese pushed Sasha back, "We'll leave, we're going. Okay? Ain't nobody got to get shot here. We're going."

Rick crouch on the ground as he wailed, "What are you doing here?!"

Glenn stepped closer to the newcomers and started to push them towards the door, "Just go. Go! Go!" He led the four away as Rick continued to scream and wail in the room.

Airianna motioned for Sophia to move and she passed her son to the girl as she rushed to Beth and Maggie's sides. She gently moved closer to the leader as he started to calm down.

"Rick, she's not there. She never was," He glanced at his friend's face as he absorbed her words and started to cry.

"Why won't she leave?" Rick sobbed.

Airi shrugged her shoulders as she kept her distance from the unhinged man, "She will one day, I promise."


	25. Chapter 25

"So Tyreese and his group came through here?" Glenn asked as he pointed to a chalk map he drew on the ground.

Airianna shrugged her shoulders, "I think so, I wasn't in the best state when they found me."

"There were more walkers than usual," Carl added.

Glenn sighed, "Means there's another breach. Okay, the whole front of the prison is unsecure. If walkers just strolled in, then it's gonna be cake for a group of armed men."

"Why are we even so sure he's going to attack?" Beth asked. "Maybe you scared him off."

"He had fish tanks full of heads," Everyone in the room turned their heads towards Michonne. "Walkers and humans. Trophies. He's coming."

"We should hit him now," Glenn suggested.

Airi quirked her brow, "What?"

"He won't be expecting it," He explained. "We'll sneak back in and put a bullet in his head."

"We're not assassins," Sophia stated.

Glenn ignored the girl and faced Michonne, "You know where his apartment is. You and I could end this tonight," He frowned when she sighed and looked away. "I'll do it myself."

"You'll just be starting something we can't finish," Airianna insisted. "The man has a whole town. You kill him and the people will want their pound of flesh. Besides, it sounds like he isn't the only loose cannon in that group."

"He didn't know you were coming last time," Hershel chimed in. "And look what happened. You were almost killed. Daryl was captured. And you and Maggie were almost executed."

Glenn glared at the older man, "You can't stop me."

"I can," The female doctor hissed. "All I have to do is pop your knee cap out and you're down for the count until you pull yourself back together."

"You would permanently damage my leg?" Glenn sarcastically asked.

"Easy to fix, just slip it back in," Airi elaborated. "If you have the skills. You try it yourself and you'll be pretty much screwed."

"Now, now," Hershel hopped between the two. "Rick would never allow this."

"You really think he's in any position to make that choice?"

The Greene man sighed, "Think this through clearly. T-Dog lost his life here. Lori, too. The men that were here. We almost lost Sophia and Airianna as well. It isn't worth any more killing. What are we waiting for? If he's really on his way, we should be out of here by now."

"And go where?" Glenn snapped.

"We lived on the road all winter," Herschel replied.

The Korean man scoffed, "Back when you had two legs and we didn't have a baby crying for walkers every four hours."

"We can't stay here," Herschel continued to press.

"We can't run," Maggie sighed and walked away from her family's arguing. "Alright, we'll stay put." Glenn gave in as he watched his girlfriend storm away, "We're gonna defend this place. We're making a stand."

Airianna nodded and leaned back against the wall, "I can get on board with that, pizza boy."

Glenn smirked, "Carl you and I will go down to the tombs. We need to figure out where the breach is."

The boy nodded his head, "You got it."

"You'll need some help," Michonne muttered.

"No," Glenn denied. "In case anything happens, I need you out here." He paused in his instructions as he glanced at the group members, "Who's on watch?" When no one replied he scoffed and stood up, storming away.

The mother sighed as she waved down Michonne and Axel, "I gotta go wash some clothes. Come with me to keep Glenn's panties out of a knot."

The two shrugged their shoulders and followed the redhead as she scooped up the box of dirty clothes the group had collected for her early in the morning. Beth offered to clean them but Airi wanted to do something since she was of little use to the fortification Glenn and Rick wanted to do to the prison, her leg injury preventing her from heavy lifting.

Axel helped her carry the box outside and with Michonne's help, they flipped some of the bleachers in the courtyard over to make a ducking wall in case they needed to hide from any gunfire. She sat next to the turned seating as she started to clean the pieces of fabric, waving of Michonne as she awkwardly stood there. Axel remained and helped her hang the wet clothes on the bleachers so they could dry properly.

The doctor distracted herself by observing her group members wandering around. Maggie was outside with Beth and little Judith, talking quietly with each other while Rick was on the fenced walkway placing pallets to add more cover...At least he was earlier when she first came outside.

Now he somehow got outside the fence to the creek, standing by himself. She eyed him as she washed the pile of clothes and sighed in relief as Hershel came out to the courtyard to check on his daughters.

She motioned to their leader outside the gates, "Can you go check on him?"

He nodded, "Think he's alright?"

"Not at all."

The older man sighed and crutched his way to the grassy area, smiling when he passed the bus and Michonne. The African American woman nodded to the older man as he crutched passed her. She seemed more relaxed around the two doctors, perhaps because they were the ones who spoke with her the most. But the redhead had noted how she tensed whenever she came around with Eren. Every time the woman looked at the brunette boy her face became stoic and hard. Airi guessed she once had her own child in some form, a sibling...a son.

She couldn't blame Michonne's aversion to Eren, even if the boy was woefully smitten with the new woman. Hell, he liked anyone new if they were at least somewhat friendly, a trait she knew he definitely got from her.

No way Daryl was ever that trusting of anybody new, except her.

She wrung out the final pair of pants and passed them to Axel to hang up, "How's your leg doing?"

She glanced at the blonde man, "Better, I guess." She leaned over and rubbed the stitched holes under her jeans. "Still hurts like a bitch."

"Do you think people will really be shooting at us?" He asked.

Airi sighed, "Maybe, I hope not."

"Guns scared the bejesus out of me," He muttered. "I robbed a gas station with a toy gun, never even took it out of my pocket."

She snorted, "You said Oscar was the thief. That you were in here for pharmaceuticals."

"Well, I didn't want y'all to think I was a violent man," He shamefully explained. "If you follow me."

"So what are you saying? You were in here for a toy gun?"

He shook his head as he wandered around the yard with her, "No, listen to this. The next day the cops found me at my brother's house. Still had the water pistol in my pocket. I swore up and down that it was the only weapon I had, but they said they didn't believe anyone could be so stupid and get away with it. So they turned my brother's house upside down and found his .38. Said it 'matched the description.'"

She nodded her head, "And that's how you got armed robbery?"

"Yeah," He lifted up the handgun Glenn had given him earlier. "To tell the truth I don't even know how to use this."

Airi grabbed the gun from his hand and unlatched the magazine, "Good for you it's fully loaded," She pointed to a small switch on the side of it. "That's the safety. You have to pull it back so you can fire." She reassembled the gun and passed it back to Axel.

He smirked, "You're quite a lady."

"Yes I am," She agreed. "A married one."

Axel sputtered at her comment and waved his hands, "I mean no disrespect, you're just stronger than other women I've met in my life."

"Wasn't always this way," She muttered. "I was a mess when I was a kid, shy and bullied. Daryl stood up for me at school and I stood up for him at home. Then my dad passed and my mom just sorta floated, like she was lost. I had to mature real quick. Studied harder, skipped a few grades, graduated early, and I pulled away from my friends, pushed Daryl away when he needed my help."

"Doesn't sound like you had a choice," Axel replied.

"Doesn't feel that way," She admitted. "And Merle started dragging him into shit, stirring up trouble around town. But when I caught Daryl going along with Merle's drug business, I begged him to stop. Said if he didn't straighten himself out I would never speak to him again."

"I'm guessing he did?"

"Not for a while. He finally started changing when he and Merle got caught dealing some sort of shit," She paused in their pacing as she recalled the memory. "I was eighteen and halfway through college when I got the call from him. He said I was his one phone call and reluctantly asked for my help, apologized for his stupidity." She leaned against the fence, "I hauled ass from Atlanta to come home."

Axel leaned on the fence next to her, "Did you bail him out?"

She laughed, "Hell no, I let the asshole sweat. But when his and Merle's trial came he was let off with probation due to an 'upstanding member of the community' vouching for his moral character," Airianna crossed her arms and shrugged. "Merle got two years and Daryl left with me. We started dating again and got married after I finished med school."

"Sounds like you did right by him," Axel muttered. "I'm sorry he left."

She shrugged her shoulders and pushed off the fence starting to wander back over to the drying clothes, "He'll be back, eventually. Merle always sidetracks him from what's important for only a little bit."

Axel joined her in taking down the dried clothing off of the bleachers, "Sounds like a complicated family."

"Family always is," She agreed as they took off the rest of the dried clothes and carried them back inside. The pair passed the clean clothing to Sophia and wandered back outside to collect the rest of the laundry. The two worked in silence as they folded the rest of the hanging clothes waving to Glenn as he wandered by.

Airianna let her eyes follow the Korean man as he ignored her and stormed towards one of the cars, "Glenn, Glenn!" The man paused at her voice. "You're not going back to Woodbury, are you?"

He glanced away from her as she walked towards him, "No. I'm just going out there."

"I'll go with you," She offered.

"I got it."

"By yourself?" He paused at her words. "How can you possibly think that's a good idea?"

Glenn groaned, "I can't just sit on my hands."

"You went on a simple formula run and got the crap beat out of you," She observed. "And Maggie was attacked."

"Are you saying this is my fault?" Glenn asked.

"No."

"I did what I could!" He snapped.

"I know you did. We all know that," She admitted. "But this rage will get you killed. Rick is already off the deep end." She motioned behind them and Glenn turned to see Rick outside the fence sharing his own conversation through it with Hershel on the other side, "Well with Daryl gone and Rick wandering Crazytown, I'm the next in charge."

She scoffed, "Did this suddenly become a dicks only party?"

"You're injured," Glenn hissed.

"So are you!" She snapped back. "I'm starting to think that one person in charge is complete bullshit if that person is not one hundred percent there, and let me tell you: you are not. What are you trying to prove?"

He ignored her question and hopped in the truck, staring the ignition so he could go on his scouting trip. Airi scoffed but relented her pushing, going back to Axel's side as she watched Glenn drive off alone.

She glanced at Hershel and Rick from the corner of her eye and huffed, "Shit."

"Go on," She turned at Sophia's voice. "Eren and I can help Axel finish the clothes."

"Of course you can," She ruffled the girl's hair and kissed her toddler's chubby cheek. "I'll be back in a minute."

She walked out of the courtyard, waxing to Carl as he opened the gate for her. She nodded to Michonne, who was watching the other gates at the entrance, before heading in the direction Hershel and Rick were. She slowed her walking as she came up to Hershel and glanced at Rick through the fence.

"How's he doing?"

Hershel shook his head, "Not well, Don't think he's noticed that it's me he's talking to."

She quirked her brows, "Who does he think you are?"

"Shane I'm guessing," The older man muttered as they both watch Rick pace through the chain metal.

"Rick! Rick!" The leader paused as Airianna called out to him. He finally looked over at the two doctors with slightly blurry eyes and shuffled closer to the fence. "What's going on?"

He glanced away from her and Hershel sighed, "You know I wouldn't have hobbled all the way down here if it wasn't important. Are you coming back soon?"

"Glenn's on a warpath," Airi added. "Smart as he is, he can't fill your boots."

"We're afraid he's reckless," Herschel continued. "We need you now more than ever."

"Well, if you're so worried about him, you both lead," Rick muttered as he tried to brush them off.

"What are you doing out here?" Airianna asked as she tried to follow his rapid gaze.

"I've...I've been...I've got...stuff out here," She stammered out. "Stuff."

"How much longer do you need?" Herschel questioned.

Rick shrugged, "I don't know. I don't…"

Airianna stepped closer to the fence, "Is there anything we can help you with?"

Rick paused, "I saw something."

"Lori?" Rick nodded at the redhead's guess.

"Yeah, I saw Lori...I'm seeing Lori...Look, I know it's not really her. But there's got to be a reason. It's got to mean something, you know." The two group members nodded at his rambling.

"Was it her on the phone?"Hershel asked. Airi furrowed her brows at his question but brushed it off.

"Yeah…Shane too," He gripped the chains of the fence. "And the town."

Airi reached her hand to touch Rick's through the fence, "Do you see them now?"

He shook his head, "You're looking for them," Hershel stated.

"I'm waiting," Rick agreed.

"For what?"

He looked away, "I don't know. Something. There's an answer. I know it doesn't make sense. Well, it does, it can make sense. I mean, I think in time it will make sense."

"Rick?" He focused on the woman still holding his hand through the fence. "Come on in. You need to rest. It's not safe out here alone."

"I can't. I can't," He denied as he turned to head back to the woods.

Airianna and Hershel sighed as they watched their leader walk away before they turned and slowly made their way back to the courtyard. The older man hobbled along and Airi kept herself close to him in case he stumbled on the uneven ground. They both were halfway through the field when Airi glanced at the courtyard and waved at Sophia and Eren. The girl waved back as she stood next to Axel, and the mother beamed at the two children together.

Airi paused in her movement when a gunshot sounded and Axel fell to the ground with a bullet in his head. Sophia screamed and fell to the ground and Airi tried to run after her but stumbled when she felt a searing pain in her side.

She gasped at the pool of blood pouring from the left side of her stomach and felt hands press into her side to add pressure to the wound. She sobbed in pain, but Hershel shushed her and he pushed himself and her into the tall grass to hide from the shooters. Gunshots rained in the air as the two hid in the grass, praying nobody else in the group was injured. They both jerked to the side when a bullet hit the ground close to Hershel's arm, and Airi grunted as her torso wound throbbed. The two started to inch through the grass as the rest of their group started to fire back at the attackers, hoping to offer cover for the people stuck outside the courtyard.

She glanced up when the shooting stopped, but froze when she saw a truck heading in their direction and cringed when it tore through the fence. She grabbed Hershel tightly and rolled them both over to avoid the truck's path, groaning as she felt more blood pouring out of her body at the movement.

"You have to stop moving," Herschel hissed.

"Kinda in a predicament right now," She bit back as they watched the truck come to a stop a few feet away from them.

The driver of the truck hopped out in full body armor and started to shoot at them as he moved to the back of the vehicle. He pulled on a lever and the doors on the back of the truck swung open, revealing a mass of walkers lurking within. The two tried to scramble away from the threat, but the driver continued to fire at them, leaving them trapped in a field now inhabited by walkers.

"Hershel, Airi! Get the hell out of there!" The two heard Rick's yelling over more gunshots and started to make their way around the swarm of walkers, towards where Michonne had taken refuge by the bus.

The pair tried to keep quiet to avoid the walkers, but the scent of Airianna's blood drew the corpses their way, "Hershel you need to go."

"I'm not leaving you," The man whispered back as he took out his gun and fired on the monsters.

A sword cut through a walker coming up on their side and Airi nodded to Michonne as she leaned down to help them, "Take Hershel."

"No," The man denied as he continued to shot at the incoming walkers, "She's injured."

"I can walk, you can't," She pointed out. Glenn's truck pulled up and Michonne started to help Hershel into the back as Airi took out her knife and attacked a walker crawling towards her. She held in her cry of pain as Michonne returned and helped her to her feet. The two limped towards the truck but paused at a walker in their way.

Michonne paused as she tried to grab her sword without letting go of the paling woman next to her when an arrow pierced its way through the thing's skull. The female pair shot their heads behind the and the redhead beamed at the sight of her husband standing next to Rick and Merle on the other side of the fence.

Glenn hopped out and helped the two into the car before jumping into the driver's seat and rushing them back to the courtyard. He and Michonne carried Airianna out of the car, trying to keep the pressure on her wound as Hershel rushed inside to get the medical bag.

"Knew he'd be back, just wasn't expecting to get fucking shot," She muttered at her friend.

Glenn gave her a weak smile, "Lucky it went straight through."

"Guess I'm just full of luck."


	26. Chapter 26

a "We're not leaving," Rick insisted.

"We can't stay here," Herschel argued as he re-wrapped Airianna's side. She grunted as the gauze scrapped against her stitches, but remained as still as possible.

"What if there's another sniper?" Maggie asked. "A wood pallet won't stop one of those rounds."

"We can't even go outside," Beth added.

Airi rolled down her shirt once Hershel was done, "Not in the daylight, anyway."

Glenn nodded, "If Rick says we're not running, we're not running."

"No, better to live like rats," Airi groaned as she turned her head to where Merle was standing at the barred door, separating him from the rest of the group.

Rick eyed the man, "You got a better idea?"

"Yeah, we should have slid out of here last night and lived to fight another day."

"Too bad I was bleeding out last night thanks to your buddy," Airianna glared at her brother-in-law. Merle opened his mouth but stalled when he caught the heated gaze Daryl was sending him from the other side of the room.

"I'm sure he's got scouts on every road out of this place by now," He muttered absently.

Daryl scoffed as he shifted Eren around in his arms, "We ain't scared of that prick."

"Y'all should be," Merle warned. "That truck through the fence thing, that's just him ringing the doorbell. We might have some thick walls to hide behind, but he's got the guns and the numbers. And if he takes the high ground around this place, shoot, he could just starve us out if he wanted to."

Maggie scoffed, "Let's put him in the other cell block."

"No," The female Dixon muttered. "He's right. This Governor is a man who knows how to take out other groups, yesterday was pretty good evidence from that."

"This is all you," Maggie hissed at the oldest Dixon. "You started this."

"What difference does it make whose fault it is?" Beth argued. "What do we do?"

"I said we should leave," Hershel reminded the group. "Now Axel's dead. We can't just sit here." Rick ignored his words and started to walk away, but Hershel got to his feet and yelled, "Get back here!" The leader paused. "You're slipping, Rick. We've all seen it. We understand why. But now is not the time. You once said this isn't a democracy. Now you have to own up to that. I put my family's life in your hands. So get your head clear and do something."

Rick sighed but nodded his head in agreement before he picked up a rifle and left the cell block. Most of the group dispersed from the meeting area to do what little work they could, Carl going after his father, Michonne wandering into one of the empty cells, Glenn and Maggie going to check supplies, and Beth and Hershel moving to check on Judith. Leaving Airianna alone with Merle, Daryl, Eren, and Sophia.

"Sophia, hon, can you help me up?" The girl nodded and moved to assist the redhead off of the floor.

"Since when you become a mother of two?" Merle joked. "Last I check little miss Peletier here had an asshole of a daddy and a mousy momma."

"Shut up Merle," Daryl snapped at his brother.

Sophia eyed the one-armed man as she helped Airi to her feet, "My dad died in Atlanta and my mom died trying to save me."

"Huh," The grouchy man mused. "You seem to be holding up well."

"People die, all you can do is keep going or die too," The blonde girl muttered as she left Airi's side to go to the cell she shared with Beth.

The redhead groaned, "Could you for once have some common decency, Merle?"

"What I do?" He asked. "You mad cause of her or cause my baby brother smarted up and finally picked me over you?"

"I'm not mad, just disappointed. But y'all made your choice that you don't want me as part of this family so I will grab _my_ son and be on my way." She scooped Eren out of Daryl's arms and limped up the stairs to her and Daryl's cell.

"Fuckin' asshole," Daryl grunted at his brother.

Airi sat in silence until Rick returned into the cell block with Carl, Glenn, and Maggie. She peeked her head out of her cell as the man motioned to Maggie, "Take watch. Eyes open, head down." He passed his set of keys to her as she moved to leave. "Field's full of walkers. Didn't see any snipers out there, but we'll keep Maggie on watch."

"I'll get up in the guard tower, take out half them walkers, give these guys a chance to fix the fence," Daryl suggested.

"Or we use some of the cars to put the bus in place," Michonne brainstormed.

Herschel shook his head as the joined them, "We can't access the field without burning through our bullets."

Airianna slowly made her way back down the stairs as Glenn sighed, "So we're trapped in here. There's barely any food or ammo."

"Been here before," She stated as she finally reached the end of the stairs. Daryl reached an arm out to steady her, but she slapped it away. "We'll be alright."

"That's when it was just us," Glenn pointed out. "Before there was a snake in the nest."

"Man, we gonna go through this again?" Daryl scoffed. "Merle's stayin' here. He's with us now. Get used to it."

"Cool it, Daryl," He paused when his wife finally spoke directly to him, but stepped away in annoyance when she refused to meet his gaze.

"Seriously, Rick, I don't think Merle living here is really gonna fly," Glenn continued once Daryl walked away.

"I can't kick him out," Rick pressed.

Glenn shook his head, "I wouldn't ask you to live with Shane after he tried to kill you."

"But Shane was completely off his rocker," The female doctor noted. "And as much as I am pissed at Merle he is really deep down a good person with strong loyalties. Still a piece of shit though, but he will have our backs now that he's here."

"Merle has military experience," Hershel added. "He may be erratic, but don't underestimate his loyalty to his brother."

"What if we solve both problems at once?" Glenn whispered. "Deliver Merle to the Governor. Bargaining chip. Give him his traitor, maybe declare a truce."

"Better toss in Michonne, since she cut his eye out," Airi sarcastically chimed. "And Rick, since he's our leader. Maybe Maggie too, didn't sound like he was done with her either."

"What are you being such a bitch?!" Glenn snapped.

"To open your eyes. Giving Merle to him won't stop him from killing all of us," She hissed back.

Glenn crossed his arms, "It's a good start though."

She groaned and stepped away to feed Eren in the common room, but groaned again once she was there when she saw Merel sitting in the separate cell in the room. She ignored the man as she grabbed a bowl of oatmeal for her son, but Glanced towards him as he tried to duct tape a box cutter to his prosthetic.

Airi shook her head and set Eren with his food on the ground before shuffling up to his cell, "Let me see it."

Merle snorted at his sister-in-law, "Like you know what you doing with this." He waved the metal arm around.

"You want it properly fixed or not?" The man sighed and offered it up to her. She silently grabbed the arm and unwrapped the tape from it, placing the box cutter on the cot as she puttered around the common room to grab the small toolbox they had. She took out the busted screws his old knife was attached to and started to add new ones. She then adjusted one of the straps so the cutter could slip in and tightened everything once she was done.

Merle eyed her handiwork and shrugged, "Thanks, I guess. Not that I need your help or nothin'," She rolled her eyes but smirked when Hershel came up to the pair. "You're the farmer Hershel."

"And you're the black sheep Merle."

Merle glanced at his missing leg, "How'd you lose it?"

"I was bit," Hershel explained.

"Bit? You hack it off yourself?" He wondered.

"No," He moved into the cell and sat on a small box. "Rick did."

The older Dixon scoffed, "Awful kindly of him."

"Saved my life. Gave me more time with my girls. Gave you more time with your brother. Can't put a price on that," He softly said.

Merle absently nodded, "Can't put a price on anything anymore."

Hershel watched the man as he fiddled with his prosthetic and Airi stood from her spot next to Merle, "I found this," He pulled a small Bible from his pocket. "In one of the cells. Lost more than the Good Book there for a while. Lost my way. 'And if your right hand offends you, cut it off, cast it from you. For it is profitable that one of your members should perish-'"

"'And not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.' Matthew 5:29 and 30," Airianna eyed Merle oddly as he raised his head to meet Hershel's gaze. "Woodbury had a damn fine library. One of the only things I miss about it." He sniffed and shifted his gaze from Hershel to Airianna, "When the Governor returns, he's gonna kill me first. Michonne, my nephew, Airi here, my brother, then your girls. Glenn, Carl, the baby, whoever else is left. He'll save Rick for last so he can watch his family and friends die ugly. That's who you're dealing with."

Airianna wandered from the cell to give the men more privacy, picking up Eren and his empty bowl of food. She left the bowl on one of the tables before she limped her way to the cells, finding Daryl sitting in an empty one by himself. He glanced up and smiled slightly at the sight of his wife and child.

"Haven't had the chance to say that I'm glad you came back," She muttered.

He sniffed, "To what? All this? Thought you were pissed at me."

"Oh I am," She assured him. "But happy all the same. This is our home, our family."

"This is a tomb," He grumbled.

"That's what T-Dog called it," She said as she took a seat at the end of the bed. "Thought he was right when I was trapped until Carl and Tyreese found me."

"Sorry I didn't keep lookin'. I should've," Daryl apologized.

"I don't blame you for that," She admitted. "But you left Eren, he's your son."

Daryl sighed and sat up to wrap his arms around her, "I thought I failed you. Thought all I was gonna do was fail him too. At least if I went with Merle I wasn't failin' him."

"What made you come back?'

"The same thing that made me come back all those years ago, I realized Merle wasn't doin' me any favors," He said as he rubbed Eren's arm.

"I wonder if one day you'll decide to stay instead of leave, or if you'll just do it again?" She passed her son to him and lightly kissed Daryl on the cheek before walking away.

She moved over to where Sophia was laying in her cell and smiled at the blonde girl, sitting down next to her, "How's your side?" She mumbled at the woman.

"Feels like shit, but I'll live," She lightly rubbed the girl's back.

"Are you going to forgive Daryl?"

Airi shrugged her shoulders, "He's gotta earn my trust back before I can forgive him. He did fuck up kinda majorly."

The girl nodded, "Do you still love him?"

She slightly tilted her head towards the girl, "Yes, I do," She hopped from her spot on the bed. "Want to get some food with me?" Sophia nodded her head and followed her out of the cell and into the common room. The two sat at a table and nibbled on some stale crackers and soup as Michonne did push-ups on the floor.

Merle wandered in and sat near the exercising woman, "Smart to stay fit. Don't leave out the cardio...You know, if we're gonna live under the same roof, we should clear the air. This whole hunting you down thing, that was just business. Carrying out orders."

"Shit way to apologize, Merle," Airi mumbled into her bowl. Michonne held back a smirk at her comment.

"Hmmm, like the Gestapo?"

"Yeah, exactly," Merle smiled.

"They were executed for war crimes," Airi remind her brother-in-law.

"I've done a lot of things I ain't proud of," Merle continued as he ignored Airianna's words. "Before and after." He said towards the redhead instead of the swordswoman. "Anyway, I hope we can get past it. Let bygones be bygones."

Michonne glared at the man as he walked away, "And that's as modest as he gets."

She glanced at the mother and the little girl, "How did you put up with him for so many years?"

"Easy," She replied. "If he wasn't sober he wasn't allowed in my damn house, near my kid, or near Daryl. He learned my rules pretty quick."

"And he followed them?" She wondered.

"Back then yeah, he hated my guts but I think he at least respected me," She figured. "He knew how much I cared about my family."

The woman seemed to want to ask more, but Glenn came rushing in, "Andrea's here." The three females jumped to their feet and follow the man outside. They stayed back as Rick approached the gate.

"Are you alone?!"

"Open the gate!" Andrea cried back.

"Are you alone?!" Rick asked again.

"Rick!" She yelled as walkers started to notice her there with her restrained walker. The leader tossed the keys to Daryl and he opened the gate for her. She let go of her walker and ran into the safe side of the gate.

"Hands up. Turn around," She begrudgingly did as she was told and Rick started to pat her down. "I asked if you were alone."

"I am," She let out as she gazed at the group in confusion.

Rick grabbed her arm and started to lead her inside, "Welcome back."

Everyone shuffled into the cell block after them and Airi watched as Andrea looked around in slight disgust at the messy common room. She moved to hug Sophia and the girl happily returned the hug of the woman who tried to save her mother. Airianna sat down on one of the tables and watched the moment, nodding to Glenn as he passed Eren into her lap.

"After you save me, we thought you were dead," Sophia said as she pulled away from the blonde woman.

Andrea glanced at the group, but paused on Hershel's leg, "Hershel, my God," The older man shrugged and she continued to glance at the rest of the group. "I can't believe this. Where's Shane?"

Rick shook his head at her.

"And Lori and Carol?"

"Carol got caught by that herd on the farm," Airianna chimed in.

Beth shuffled up to Andrea with Judith in her arms, "She had a girl, but Lori didn't survive," Herschel lightly elaborated.

"Neither did T-Dog," Daryl added.

Andrea gasped, "I'm so sorry. Carl," The boy stepped away from her when she moved to approach him. She furrowed her brows and turned to Rick. "Rick I-" He stepped away from her as well and refused to meet her gaze. "You all live here?"

Glenn nodded, "Here and the cells," He pointed to the door behind Rick.

"There?" She started to make her way over to Rick. "We'll can I go in?"

Rick stepped in her way, "I won't allow that."

"I'm not an enemy, Rick."

"We had that whole field and courtyard safe until your boyfriend tore down the fence with a truck and shot us up," Rick argued.

She bit her lip, "He said you fired first."

"Well, he's lying."

"I can vouch with my lovely stomach wound that he fired first," Andrea glanced at the female doctor and cringed when she rolled up her shirt slightly. "Exit wound is in the front, got me clean and clear from behind."

"He also killed an inmate who survived in here," Herschel further explained. "We liked him. He was one of us."

"I didn't know anything about that," Andrea proclaimed. "As soon as I found out, I came. I didn't even know you were in Woodbury until after the shoot-out."

Glenn scoffed, "That was days ago."

"I told you, I came as soon as I could," She repeated. She glanced around once more before she turned to Michonne. "What have you told them?"

The black woman shrugged, "Nothing."

"I don't get it. I left Atlanta with you people and now I'm the odd man out?" She questioned.

"He almost killed Michonne and he would have killed us," Glenn reasoned.

Andrea pointed to Merle, "With his finger on the trigger! Isn't he the one that kidnapped you? Who beat you?" She sighed and rubbed her face. "Look, I cannot excuse or explain what Philip has done. But I am here trying to bring us together. We have to work this out."

Rick clenched his teeth, "There's nothing to work out. We're gonna kill him. I don't know who or when, but we will."

"We can settle this," Andrea argued. "There is room at Woodbury for all of you."

Merle chuckled, "You know better than that."

"I'm with Merle on this one," Airi spoke up. "Not down for a town with a built-in torture chamber."

Andrea eyed the injured doctor with confusion, but Hershel caught her attention, "What makes you think this man wants to negotiate? Did he say that?"

"No."

"Then why did you come here?" Rick asked.

"Because he's gearing up for war," She finally admitted. "The people are terrified. They see you as killers. They're training to attack."

"I'll tell you what," She looked over at Daryl. "Next time you see Philip, you tell him I'm gonna take his other eye."

"We've taken too much shit for too long," Glenn agreed. "He wants a war? He's got one."

Andrea moved back over to the group leader, "Rick, if you don't sit down and try to work this out, I don't know what's gonna happen. He has a whole town. Look at you. You've lost so much already. You can't stand alone anymore."

"You want to make this right, get us inside," Rick declared. She shook her head, "Then we got nothing to talk about."

"There are innocent people," Her words fell on deaf ears and Rick wandered further into the block. Andrea sighed and stormed outside with Michonne hot on her heels.

Airianna groaned at the drama and wandered into the block with Beth, setting up a small blanket on the ground for the two children. Beth beamed as Eren and Judith sat on the blanket together, Judith on her stomach and Eren sitting up straight as he fiddled with a few foam blocks Beth laid out. The girl got up and came back with Eren's favorite deer toy, the boy squealing when he caught sight of the stuffed animal.

"Surprised he still has it," Airi turned at the sound of Andrea's voice.

She shrugged as she watched her son violently shake the deer, "It's his favorite."

Beth gently picked up Judith and brought her over to the other blonde, "You can't leave without meeting Little Ass-kicker."

"May I hold her?" The teen passed the young infant into Andrea's waiting arms. "Oh, look at you."

"Beth," The girl turned to the redhead sitting near her son. "Would you mind grabbing a bottle for Judith? She'll be hungry soon." The teenager happily nodded and wandered out to the common room to prepare the formula.

"Let me guess, Daryl named her Ass-kicker?" Airi nodded at Andrea's question.

"Her name's Judith," She chimed as Eren tossed a block at her.

Andrea smiled at the mother and son playing together, "Judith. Hi Judith. Oh, how precious are you? What happened to Lori?"

The doctor sighed, "During a C-section. Maggie did it, and carl had to-"

"Oh, my God," Andrea muttered. "What happened to you and Hershel?"

"Prison got attacked by some crazy asshole," She explained. "Hershel was trapped with Beth and Eren while T-Dog, Sophia, and I got lost in the tombs. T-Dog died protecting us, but we were missing for quite a few days."

"And Shane?"

"Rick killed him," She admitted. "The night we left the farm. That whole Randall thing was a lie. Shane tried to kill Rick."

The blonde shook her head, "Shane loved Rick."

"Shane loved Lori."

The woman sighed as she shifted Judith in her arms, "Rick's become cold. Unsteady."

"He has his reasons," The mother defended. "The Governor, you need to do something."

Andrea offered the baby back and Airianna stood up to take hold of Judith, "I am."

She shook her head as she laid the little girl back down nest to her son, "No, you need to sleep with him. Give him the greatest night of his life. You get him to drop his guard. Then when he's sleeping, you can end this."

Andrea gazed in shock at the gentle doctor before she silently walked away. Airianna rolled her eyes but smiled when Beth came back to feed the baby. The two stayed inside as the rest of the group saw Andrea off, keeping an eye on the two youngest children. When the rest of the group piled back inside they knew Andrea had chosen to return to Woodbury. Beth got up to help Maggie with Dinner and the rest of the group congregated around the kids. Airianna got up to put Judith to bed and when she returned she noticed Eren had walked his way over to Merle, reaching for the man to pick him up.

"Surprised he still remembers his ol' uncle Merle," The man muttered as he swept the boy up with his normal arm.

"Not a surprise really," Daryl replied. "He saw your ugly mug all the damn time when he was real tiny, makes an imprint or somethin'."

Everyone else sat in silence as Beth and Maggie passed bowls of food around. Airi thanked Maggie as she handed her a bowl and started to eat the rice and canned fish as she kept a close eye on Merle. She was thankful he had unclipped his prosthetic and was using his stump arm to keep Eren in place as he spoon-fed the toddler.

Merle looked up at her and quickly turned his head away to hide his blush, "Used to do this with Daryl when he was all tiny, guess it's nice."

She offered him a small smile, "Children are a blessing."

Hershel nodded in agreement and the silence resumed. Beth glanced around at the group and started to lightly sing, "They hung a sign up in our town. If you live it up, you won't live it down. So she left Monte Rio, son. Just like a bullet leaves a gun."

Maggie smiled at her sister and light chimed in, "With charcoal eyes and Monroe hips, she went and took the California trip," The two sang in harmony as Rick slowly got up and climbed down the stairwell. "Well, the moon was gold and her hair like wind. Said 'don't look back now just come on, Jim.' You got to hold on, hold on. You got to hold on. Take my hand, I'm standing right here. You got to hold on."

Rick wandered over and leaned next to Hershel on the wall as they listened to the singing. Airianna put her bowl down and surprised the group by joining in as well, "Well, he gave her a dime-store watch and a ring made from a spoon. Everyone's looking for someone to blame. If you share my bed, you share my name..." She paused her singing when she heard Daryl speak up.

"Some reunion, huh?" He asked Rick over the sisters' voices.

Rick shrugged, "She's in a jam."

"We all are," Hershel pointed out. "Andrea's persuasive. This fella's armed to the teeth. Bent on destruction."

"So what do you want to do?" The men turned when they heard Airianna's question.

"We match it," Rick answered. "I'm going on a run."

Daryl nodded, "I'll head out tomorrow."

Rick glanced between the hunter and his wife, "No, you stay here. Keep an eye on your brother. I'm glad you're back, really, but if he causes a problem, it's on you."

"I got him," He promised.

"I'll take Michonne," Rick muttered.

Airi stood up and walked closer to Rick, "Are you sure that's a good idea? She's still healing."

"I'll find out," He said. "I'll bring Carl too. He's ready."

"Take Sophia then as well," Airi suggested. "They're both getting stir crazy."

The leader nodded, "You hold it down here."

"You got it," Daryl agreed.

The four then listened to the Greene girls finish their singing, separating as the girls hit their last notes together. The mother shuffled over to Merle and moved her hands in a 'come hither' motion. The man grunted but relented the boy over to his mother. She nodded to Merle and started to make her way up the stairs. She sighed when she heard footsteps following her and stopped outside her cell when Daryl placed his hand on her arm.

"I'm still mad at you," She mumbled.

"I know," Daryl acknowledged. "I just wanted to kiss Eren goodnight."

She passed the toddler over to him and waited as Daryl hugged the small boy and lightly kissed his forehead as he whispered to him. He gently passed the sleepy boy back over to his mother and waved them off.

"Daryl?"

He turned his head, "Yeah?"

She paused as she tried to think of words to say, "Have...Have a good night." He gave her a light smile before he glanced away and moved back down the stairs.


	27. Chapter 27

Airianna sighed as she sat in the car next to Hershel, ignoring him as she glanced out the window. She only came on this trip because Rick insisted on bringing both of the doctors to the meeting with the Governor, claimed it was a sign of good faith. But she also guessed Andrea was going to try to butt her head into the private meeting and it would fall to her to keep the self-righteous woman away from the leaders as they talked.

She twitched as she felt the older man's eyes on her. She knew he was only concerned, but it made her skin crawl.

The redhead sighed when she watched Daryl zoom past them on his motorbike, keeping close to the car as they approached their destination. Normally she would have hopped on the bike with him, but she brushed past him earlier and locked herself in the car. She knew he had been trying to make amends for what happened, for him leaving. She just couldn't let it go for some reason, maybe because she always worried he would keep picking Merle over her and he proved it so simply. Airi wouldn't have minded as much if he just left her, but he chose to leave his son as well. The Dixon family were never the most well-liked in their hometown, but everyone knew how much Daryl and Merle prided their family over anything else.

"We're here," She refocused her eyes and took in the old feed store they were parking in front of.

The building had a rusted roof with decaying wood panels on the side, along with multiple feed silos nestled next to it. No other cars were in the vicinity yet and Airi breathed a sigh of relief as she opened the car door. Hershel rolled down his window as Rick joined her outside the car, waving at the three as Daryl joined them.

Rick motioned for her to stay by the car and she swung her rifle over her shoulder, instead, she took out her hunting knife as she leaned against the car next to the open window. Daryl and Rick moved towards the building to run their sweep while the two doctors kept their eyes peeled for any incoming vehicles.

"He's sorry you know," Hershel muttered.

"You have your extra gun?" She asked as she ignored his previous statement.

The older man sighed and patted his half leg, and she nodded at the slight metallic thump as his hand hit the concealed weapon. The two turned as Daryl walked back up, "He's already in there. Sat down with Rick."

Hershel glanced around, "I don't see any cars."

"Don't feel right," Daryl muttered. "Keep it running."

The older man nodded and put the car in reverse to turn it around in case they needed to make a quick escape. He pulled back up next to the married couple and they waited for any other disturbances.

The trio tensed at the sounds of an approaching car, watching warily as an SUV pulled up next to them and parked. Airianna narrowed her eys s she watch Andrea step from the car with a Hispanic man wearing a baseball cap and a bookish man in thick eyeglasses. Hershel put the car in park and carefully stepped out to stand next to Airianna. She stood tall as they turned to face the prison group members, the Hispanic man glaring at Daryl as he kept his crossbow raised at him.

Daryl glared back at the man while he addressed Andrea, "What the hell? Why's your boy already in there?"

"He's here?" The blonde asked.

Daryl nodded, "Yup."

Andrea glanced at the Hispanic mand and sighed, starting to make her way into the building to face the two leaders. Airianna patted Hershel on the shoulder as she followed after the stubborn woman. The blonde gave the redhead a strange look for following her but focused her attention on the Governor when they entered the room.

"What's going on?"

A clean-shaven man sporting an eye patch glanced over at the two females, "Nothing. Your friend isn't much for small talk," He spared a glance at Airi and she bit the inside of her cheek at the unsettling look he gave her.

Rick shifted in his seat at the table, "You want to talk, talk."

"I wanted you to talk," Andrea explained. "Too many people have died for no reason. Let's end this. Save the bullets for the real threat." She stepped up to the table and leaned her hands on it so she was between the two men. "We can solve this. That's why I asked you to come here."

"Then maybe we should let them talk in private, Andrea," The blonde brushed off her friend's suggestion, but the Governor looked at her once more before turning his good eye back to Rick.

"I know what you've done," Rick muttered. "I heard about the raids, the heads, Maggie-"

"Merle did that," The Governor calmly deflected.

"Merle took her and Glenn," Airi admitted. "But he's no molester or rapist. He at least has some morals."

Rick gestured to the female doctor, "You know what we're talking about."

The Governor shifted in his seat as he looked from Rick two the confused blonde with the angry redhead behind her. He waved his hand, "You know all about me and I know all about you. I don't care about any of that. We're here to move forward," He looked to Andrea. "Who's your friend by the way?"

"One of our doctors," Rick answered before the blonde could open her mouth.

Andrea nodded, "She's Daryl's wife." Airianna shot the blonde a heated look when she blurted her identity out, but Andrea once more ignored her, "Look, I've known both of you at different times, but only after the world went to shit. And you both stepped up for the good of others at great personal risks. There's no reason-"

"Get to it," The Governor snapped. The Woodbury woman huffed at being cut off, but let it go.

Rick pulled out a map of the area and placed it on the table, "Woodbury takes west of the river. The prison takes east. No one crosses, no one trades."

"He's right," Andrea agreed. "We should hammer out boundaries, then leave each other-"

"I'm sorry, what is this?" The Governor asked over Andrea's ranting.

"It's a solution," Airi muttered as she moved to stand behind Rick.

He laughed, "Absolutely not."

Rick glared and the blonde, "What the hell and I doing here? You told me-"

"Told him what?" The one-eyed man posed.

"You told me he was willing to talk."

"I am," The suave man conceded. "But the truth is, Rick, she's in no position to make such an offer anyway. I'm here for one thing only...Your surrender."

Rick scoffed, "Oh you want surrender? Come get it. You think we hit Woodbury heavy last time?"

"Just take it easy, alright?" Andrea pressed. "We're here to settle this."

The governor nodded and gave her a sickly sweet grin, "You're right. Would you step outside?"

"What?"

"Rick and I, we got a lot to talk about," He simply replied.

She shook her head, "I'm not leaving."

"I came to talk to him," Rick agreed as he eyed the blonde.

"What and Airi gets to stay?" The doctor sighed as Andrea huffed.

"I leave when you leave, Andrea," She waited until the blonde turned on her heel before silently following her out of the room.

She made her way back to Hershel and Daryl's sides as Andrea stormed away, trying to act casual in front of the two strangers. The Hispanic man walked up and slammed the door shut to give the leaders privacy, keeping his back to the door. The six people shuffled around in silence while they waited, Daryl paced between the cars sparing small glances to his wife as he passed her.

The well put together man stepped forward between the groups, "There's no reason not to use this time we have together to explore the issues ourselves."

"Boss said to sit tight and shut up," The other man hissed.

"Don't you mean the Governor?" Daryl snapped at the other tall man.

"Daryl," Airi's sharp tone disarmed the hunter and he took a step back. "I'm Airianna Dixon," She offered to the man.

"Milton Mament," He replied. "It's a good thing they're sitting down, especially after what happened. They're gonna work it out. Nobody wants another battle."

Her husband scoffed, "I wouldn't exactly call it a battle."

The man adjusted his glasses, "I would call it a battle and I did," He pulled out a small journal and flashed it at the other group members. "I recorded it."

"For what?" Daryl asked.

"Somebody's got to keep a record of what we've gone through," He explained. "It'll be a part of our history."

Herschel nodded his head, "That makes sense."

Milton smiled at the older man, "I've got dozen of interviews-"

The six people tensed at the sound of thumping metal and growling mixed together. Andrea, Daryl, and the other man took off towards the sounds while Airi hung back with the researcher and Hershel. She leaned back against the car when the sounds of arrows flying and crunching echoed in the air. Milton spared a glance at the redheaded woman and the one-legged man as he tried to understand their importance to their group.

"What sort jobs did you have before all this," Milton asked to break the silence.

Hershel crutched over to one of the small benches against the building and sat down, motioning for the man to join him, "I owned a farm. And was a vet in my home town."

The man smirked and started to write in his small notebook, "And you ma'am?"

Airi snorted, "Is this one of your interviews?" He nodded. "I had been promoted to Chief of Surgery in my hospital right before everything happened."

"A doctor, interesting considering…" He trailed off.

"Considering I'm related to Merle Dixon? Is that what you're guessing?" She asked. Milton blushed and looked away. "Surprised he never talked about me. Guess some things stay the same."

He raised his brows as he paused his scribbling, "What do you mean by that?"

"You met Merle, now anyone with the name Dixon you think less of," He opened his mouth to argue, but she lifted her hand. "Don't lie, just a fact of life. One bad apple can ruin a bunch, but it's just harder to see Merle for who he really is."

Milton shrugged, "I just knew him as the Governor's right hand, a bit of a brute."

"It's how he gets by," Hershel surmised. "But his loyalties are obvious."

He nodded at the older man, "May I ask how you lost your leg?" He muttered to change the subject.

"I was bit."

"So you cut off your leg to keep the infection from spreading," He processed with mirth under his breath. "Interesting."

"Like gangrene," Airi added.

He added more to his journal, "How long after the initial bite?"

"Immediately."

"You didn't bleed out?" He questioned in surprise.

"We have good people," Hershel muttered. "They took care of me."

"Doctors? Medical staff?" Milton theorized.

"No, besides Airi," He corrected. "We learned mainly by trial and error."

"Me, too," He mumbled. He motioned to the limb. "May I see it? Your stump, I'd like to see where the amputation was. How high above the bite."

Airianna quirked her brow at the audacity of the man. She shared a glance with Hershel as the older man straighten up on the bench.

"I'm not showing you my leg," Hershel brushed off.

Milton pressed, "it's important data."

"I just met you," He reminded the researcher. "At least buy me a drink first."

Airi snorted at her friend's humor and Milton awkwardly laughed as well to lighten the mood. They stemmed their joyful sounds when Daryl returned with Andrea and the other man came back from dealing with the walkers. The redhead crossed her arms when she noticed the pack of cigarettes sitting in Daryl's jacket and the smell of smoke that hung over him.

He blushed and looked away from his wife, "Martinez didn't want them."

She shot a look over at the Hispanic man, Martinez, and huffed. She tilted her head to the spot next to her against the car and Daryl quietly moved to stand next to her. She leaned her body against his and watched as Hershel crutched from his spot next to Milton to the crate Andrea was sitting on by herself.

"How's it going in there?" He asked the blonde to break the ice.

She glanced up at him, "They kicked me out. I don't know what I'm doing here."

"You're trying to help," Hershel observed.

"What happened with Maggie?" She whispered while trying and failing to keep her voice level.

The older man sighed, "He's a sick man."

She looked away from her friend and over to Milton who actively avoided her gaze, "What am I gonna do now?" She shuddered. "I can't go back there."

"We're family. You belong with us," He claimed. "But if you join us, it's settled."

"I know."

Airianna sighed and tried to tone out the blonde's pity party, not her issue if Andrea couldn't or wouldn't notice how slimy that man was. Hell, one look at him made her extremely uncomfortable. She shook her head lightly and nudged Daryl in the side.

"What?" He muttered.

"Hope you throw those death-sticks out," She grumbled.

He groaned, picked them out of his pocket, and flung them into the grass, "Happy?"

"Nope," She popped the p.

"Man, she has you whipped," Martinez chuckled as he watched as the couple interacted.

"That's what happens you slip one of these on a girl's finger," She pointed to her ring finger and the man frowned at the two rings resting there. He sighed but strolled away to sit on the other side of his car.

"Rude much?" Her husband asked.

She shrugged as she got up from the side of the car, "Not much of your issue is it?" Daryl glared lightly at her retreating form, hoping her passive aggressiveness would go away soon.

"You need to apologize to her. She's still angry," Daryl huffed at Hershel's kind voice.

"Already did that."

Hershel hopped back to the driver seat of the car, "Try again."

The door to the feed store creaked open and both leaders came walking out, a serene smile on the governor's lips and a stony gaze in Rick's eyes. Airianna and Daryl both paused as they watched the one-eyed man stride over to his car, Daryl growling when the man winked his one good eye at the female doctor. Everyone loaded into their perspective vehicles, but the redhead paused with the back door open as Andrea glanced between the two cars. She frowned and slammed the door shut when the blonde lowered her eyes and made her way back to the Governor. She and the other two in the car waited for the Woodbury people to drive off before Rick signaled for Daryl to follow them back to the prison.

It wasn't long for them to arrive back at the prison and safely reach the courtyard. Airianna smiled as Sophia rushed up to greet her when she clambered out of the car. But she let the girl go to Maggie as she followed Rick into the cell block. The man waited for the whole group to congregate together and started to explain what happened.

"So, I met this Governor...Sat with him for quite a while," He shuffled his feet.

"Just the two of you?" Merle asked from the back of the group.

"Yeah," Rick confirmed. "He wants the prison. He wants us gone. Dead. He wants us dead, for what we did to Woodbury. We're going to war."

He walked away after his declaration and Airi passed a look with Hershel, motioning for the man to follow after Rick. As she watched Hershel leave she turned to where Sophia and Beth were standing holding the two youngest kids. She nodded at them but paused when she noticed eyes watching her. She walked away from the cells and picked up one of the rifles in the common area, muttering to Maggie about going on watch. She reached the small caged area and looked out to the walker infested field.

"You avoidin' me," Daryl spoke up from behind her.

"Really?" She sarcastically asked.

"Look, I know I fucked up, leavin' and all that," He admitted. "I know it ain't right for you or Eren, and I'm sorry."

"Did you do it cause I was dead? Or would you have still done it if I was alive?" She posed.

"I...I wasn't thinkin' straight then. Thought I lost ya and Merle...He was there, felt like it all could disappear and I could just go back," Daryl rubbed the back of his head.

She gazed out where the walkers were lumbering around, "We can never go back."

"I know," He agreed.

"Just promise me," She whispered. "If anything actually does happen. You will never, _ever_, abandon our son again."

He moved closer to her slowly, "I promise. I will do anythin' to make this right."

She brushed his hand away as it was moving to her arm, sidestepping him so she could slip back inside, "It's a start, Daryl."


	28. Chapter 28

"It's the only way. No one else knows."

Airianna and Daryl sent each other matching looks of disbelief as they listen to Rick's plan while Hershel stood in silence. The redhead was steaming that Rick chose to keep the Governor's offer against his chest for the past few days. Now the deadline was drawing near and she figured if he presented it now more people would agree to his terms.

"You gonna tell 'em?" Daryl questioned.

Rick shook his head, "Not until after. We have to do it today. It has to be quiet."

Daryl shifted his feet, "You have a plan?"

"We tell her we need to talk. Away from the others," The leader calmly explained.

Daryl spared a glance at Hershel's forlorn expression, "Just ain't us, man."

"No. No, it isn't," Hershel agreed before stepping away in disappointment.

"We can't do this Rick," Airianna added. "Michonne's a good person, she's helped us time and time again."

"We do this, we avoid a fight," Rick reasoned. "No one else dies."

"Alright," Daryl quietly agreed.

"Daryl!" Airi slammed her arm into his chest before focusing on Rick, "This man wants his pound of flesh and we all know deep down one person is not enough. He will rip us apart whether or not we give her to him."

"This is not your call," Rick insisted.

"The hell it isn't, you can't decide to sacrifice her by yourself," She snapped back.

"I can and I will," Rick hissed back. Airianna glared at both of the men before she turned on her heel and stormed after Hershel.

She made it into the cell block and rushed past the kind woman as she passed her, barely giving Michonne a wave of acknowledgment. She stumbled up the stairs and let out a haggard gasp when she reached her cell. She attempted to hold in her tears of anger, hoping to restrain herself from going back and slapping the shit out of Rick.

Sophia glanced in on Airi, "Are you okay?"

She nodded her head at the girl as she wiped her tears away, "Yeah, just had a little spat with Daryl."

The blonde girl nodded, "Thought you guys were trying to work things out?"

"Fighting is normal when you're trying to fix things," She quietly explained. She felt awful for lying to the girl, but she couldn't stand to tell her the truth. "Come on, the others are busy. We can go check on the little ones."

She and Sophia moved into the common room where Eren and Judith were existing. The kids, Rick, and Michonne had come back from the gun run with a crib and a playpen so both of the youngest could sleep and play without running into anything dangerous in the prison. Eren laid in the playpen on a bundle of blankets while Judith napped in her crib.

"Ain't no way," Airi turned her head up to see Merle standing on the balcony looking out one of the upper windows.

"What?" He turned around when Sophia answered him. He smirked at the sight of the girl tucked close to his sister-in-law.

"Nothin' little lady," He brushed off. Sophia rolled her eyes and moved to check on the other kids.

"What happened?" Airi tiredly asked.

"We got any whiskey?" He offhandedly asked in return. "Hell, I'd even drink vodka."

"Go to hell, Merle," She muttered as she gently picked up Judith, grabbing one of the prepared bottles of formula to feed the little girl. "Besides, if we had any I would have chugged it already."

He laughed and slowly moved down the stairs, "Course you would Airi."

"Are you with us?" She asked as she fed the baby.

"You know I'm with my brother," Merle replied.

"I meant with all of us," She repeated herself. "Not just with Daryl. With me, Eren, Sophia, Rick, Hershel, Michonne?" He lifted his gaze and locked eyes with her.

"Not much difference."

"There is," Sophia chimed in. "Can't be neutral now, everyone has to pick a side."

He smirked at the little girl, "You're not the same kid from back in Atlanta, clinging to your momma's skirts, scared of anything that made a noise."

"I'm not," She agreed as she played with Eren. "I realized the only thing to be scared of is losing those I love. So I got stronger to protect them, and so I can make them proud." Airianna beamed at the girl and leaned down to lightly ruffle her hair.

"Sounds like you finally figured things out," Merle muttered.

"Yeah," She mumbled. "Maybe you can too."

He frowned at the girl's words, "might be too late for me."

"It's never too late to make things right," Airianna stated as she laid Judith back down after she finished eating. She moved over to Sophia and picked up Eren, moving over to stand next to her brother-in-law, "I try to do right by this little guy, maybe you can too."

He grumbled as he looked at the toddler grabbing for him, "I always take care of my own," He promised.

"I said to do right by, sometimes the right thing is never the easy one," She passed her son to Sophia and motioned the girl out of the cellblock. "We should leave and let Judith nap in peace."

She walked with the girl out into the courtyard and let her take Eren to sit by the small laundry area. She paused when she realized she left her gun near her bed and turned back into the block to retrieve it. While she passed through the common room she noted Merle had been kind enough to leave the baby to her rest. She walked up the stairs but paused when she saw Daryl sitting on the bed in the cell.

"What's wrong?" She leaned against the doorway.

"Merle bein' a dick," He muttered. "Tried talkin' to him, but he just lookin' for drugs in the generator room."

She nodded and moved to sit next to him, "That's what Merle does...I'm guessing Rick tasked him with the snatch and grab?"

Daryl tilted his head in agreement.

"As much as I don't get along with him, he's worth more than dirty work," She admitted.

"Thought you was mad at him for draggin' me down?"

"I am," She agreed. "But I still remember when we were all little and he would give me piggyback rides, and we would all try to learn to track in the woods, got lost as shit."

"Yeah, that was all you," Daryl chuckled.

"He's a great brother when he isn't being self-destructive," She sighed. "A trait you both seem to have."

Her husband rose from the bed, "I have to go talk to Rick, this ain't right."

"Okay, you go," She smiled as he walked away and leaned under the bed to grab her extra clip along with the gun sitting at the end of her bed. She slipped it into her holster and kept her hand on her knife as she moved down the stairs and to the door separating the block from the tombs.

The redhead quietly walked through the halls as she inched closer to the generator room, hoping to catch Merle before he did something undeniably stupid. She paused at the entrance to the room and peeked her head in. The area was in more disarray than usual and she walked around the machines connected to the generators hoping to find a sign of him somewhere.

She paused when she caught sight of a burlap sack on the ground and bent down to look at it. She sighed when she noticed a few black strands of hair stuck to it.

"Shit Merle, are you kidding me?" She got up and look through the door leading to the side of the prison, hoping to catch a glance of them.

When she couldn't see them she passed through the doorway and out into the fresh air. She crouched when she heard walkers shuffling nearby and slowly moved through the grassy field to the outer fences. Once Airi reached the outer fence she slipped out through the downed part of the fence and started to make her way through the trees.

Luckily she remembered the path to the feed store they took so she sneaked her way around in the forest hoping to see Merle and Michonne so she could cut him off.

A walker rasped and grabbed for her hair when she missed it hiding by a large tree. She stumbled and slashed at the corpse, landing her blade into its eye socket. The redhead dropped to the ground when more walkers came out from behind the trees moving westward towards a loud noise in the distance. Thinking fast she cut open the stomach of the walker she killed and smeared its blood all over her shirt and pants, imitating what Rick and Glenn did back in Atlanta.

Now covered in bile churning guts she shuffled in with the rest of the moving walkers and bit her cheek to keep any involuntary noises under lock and key. Moving through the woods she was starting to regret her poorly thought out plan as more and more walkers were drawn in by the racket coming somewhere in front of her. She followed the disgusting pack of monsters for a while until they spat out near the road where she watched a lone car blasting rock music inch down the asphalt. She kept her distance from the car as she moved with the slowly forming herd, but when it turned a corner towards the feed store Airi eyed Merle in the driver's seat sipping a half-empty bottle of liquor.

The female Dixon mentally sighed in relief, but as she came closer to the car she started to theorize why Merle was trying to bring in so many walkers. She shuffled close enough to reach the passenger door and she slapped her hand on the glass, "_Merle_."

The man slammed on the breaks at the disgusting body outside the door calling his name and squinted at it, "Holy Fuck Airi, why you lookin' like a dead one?"

"Let me in the damn car," She hissed as the rest of the walkers behind the vehicle started to catch onto her not being one of their kind. Her brother-in-law unlocked the door and she flung herself in before a walker lunged at her.

She cringed at the loud racket of noise, "What are you doing Merle? Thought you took Michonne?"

"I did, but I let her go at some dumb hotel," He grumbled as he side-eyed her. "Why you all gussied up?"

"Camouflage trick I learned in Atlanta," She elaborated. "Was heading to the feed store to head you off. Stop the stupid trade from going down."

He rolled his eyes, "Well, I done your job for ya, go back to the prison."

"Not leaving without you," She insisted.

He groaned and took a large swig of the alcohol, "You have people to go back to at that prison, they waitin' for ya."

"Waiting for you too," She shot back. "Besides this isn't the first time a Dixon ran off with you Merle and left their spouse and son behind."

"So you pullin' this crap to get back a Daryl?" He asked.

"I'm doing this for you, you need to come home," She declared.

"I have to do somethin' right with my damn shit life!" Marle yelled. "I let that black bitch go, but that ain't enough. The governor has to die."

"Well, then you don't have to do this alone," She reached over and patted his right arm above his prosthetic. "Family supports each other."

"You can't leave Daryl and Eren," Merle noted.

She smirked, "Neither can you. Someone has to get your sorry fat ass home."

The older man chuckled and reached over to pass the liquor over to her, "Welcome to the A-Team then."

She smirked and grabbed the bottle, taking a large sip of the bitter liquid, "Fuck, that's strong."

"Only the best," He joked. "You know he loves ya, Daryl." She nodded. He shifted in his seat as he slowed a bit to keep the walkers on their trail. "I kinda care for ya too."

"I know," She whispered. "Glad you do. Daryl's gonna hate me for this."

"You tryin' to help, do the right thing," He echoed her words from earlier. "He'll just be mad he didn't catch on as quick as you."

"So...How are we doing this?"

"Use the walkers as cover, sneak in and shoot anybody breathing," Merle summarized.

"Sounds so easy when you say like that," She muttered as she wiped a fleck of walker blood off her cheek.

The two drove on the rest of the way with only the CD on the radio creating noise. Merle slowed down more as he pulled up to the silos outside the store and picked up his gun, motioning for Airi to jump from the car. She opened her door and rolled out as the car continued, getting up and following after her brother-in-law. The pair snuck around the silos and into a small service building. Merle hunkered down by a window and peered at the small cluster of cars on the other side of the property by the building where Rick and the Governor met. The walkers swarmed the car and started to claw at it. The two ducked down when five or so men ran past their hiding spot and over towards the blasting car.

The men started to shoot at the crowd of walkers, but Airianna and Merle focused on them and started their counterattack. Merle took out the ones closest to the corpses to draw their attention away from the car while the doctor aimed for the legs and torsos of the others. They both paused as the first wave of men crumpled to the ground and more yelling echoed through the air as the walkers descended upon them.

Airi moved to the other side of the building to check on the rest of the armed men surrounding the cars, whistling to Merle when she caught sight of the Governor motioning at the other men. He rushed over to join her and they both continued their tactic of wounding the Woodbury men. She paused when she caught sight of Martinez pointing over to where they were hiding.

"Merle, we have to move," She whispered as she eyed the men moving closer to their position.

He turned to face her but stumbled when a walker latched onto his back. The redhead unsheathed her knife and jammed it into its skull, shoving it off of the oldest Dixon's back. Two men busted into the door and one of them rammed the butt of their gun into Merle's chest. He groaned but started to fight with him while the other man moved closer to Airi, pausing at the filth and guts she was covered in. She lept at the man and stabbed his chest, stumbling back to her feet and hitting his brain as well once he took his last breath.

She moved to help Merle when strong arms wrapped around her torso and neck and she gasped for breath, "Gotta say, you being here is a surprise," She wheezed as Martinez tightened his arm on her windpipe.

"You leave them to me!" The Governor screamed at his men as he came around the corner and latched onto Merle.

The one-eyed man dragged him into the building and shoved him into the wall before tossing him to the ground. Merle grunted in pain as The crazed leader started to kick him as hard as possible, but he kept his eyes on Airianna as she attempted to escape from Martinez's iron grip. He stumbled to his feet and weakly swung his metal arm at the Governor, but he hit him with a hard left hook and sent him back to the ground. He slammed his foot down on Merle's jaw and the man cried in pain as he felt it fully dislocate from his skull.

Airianna screamed at his wails of pain as he fought it the maniacal leader and opened her mouth enough to bit down into Martinez's arm. The main yelped as she tore into his arm and he released her, groaning as she left a bit mark in his right forearm. She jammed her elbow up into his groin and scrambled to help Merle when he fumbled to the ground.

A gun clicking froze her in her tracks and she looked up to see the Governor aiming his weapon directly at her chest. She stayed rooted in her place with her arms lightly up as her gaze shift from her beaten brother-in-law to the one-eyed asshole.

"Knew I'd be seeing you again," The Governor muttered as he eyed the redhead up and down. "Wasn't expecting it like this, however."

"I ain't gonna beg!" Merle yelled to get the disgusting man's gaze off his brother's wife. "I ain't begging you."

"No," He agreed. "But she will." He quickly swung around and backhanded Merle with the handgun, effectively knocking him out.

"Merle!" Before she could move a blunt force hit her from behind and she joined the fellow Dixon on the floor.

"Airi, Airianna."

She groaned in pain as her eyes fluttered open and she tensed as she noticed the strange chair she was strapped to in a mystery room. Her breathing started to increase heavily and she tried to hold back her panic as she struggled with the cuffs attached to her wrists.

"Hey, hey, look at me, Airianna," She swept her eyes around the room and her breathing slowed when she locked eyes with Merle, but she frowned when she noticed he was chained to the wall with his good arm which was bent at an odd angle.

"Merle?" She cringed as a pain shot through her head, "Where are we? What happened?"

"Governor got us, dragged our sorry asses back to Woodbury," He whispered as he scanned the room for anything that could help them escape.

"How's your arm?" She quietly asked as she tried t refocus her vision.

"Broken as all hell, but I'm breathin'," He muttered as he gazed worriedly at the woman strapped to the chair. "Heard that one-eyed bitch kickin' the shit outta someone else so we may have some time."

"I think...I think I have a concussion," She mumbled.

A loud bout of yelling made her jump in her seat and they both turned their heads over to the door on Airi's right and Merle's left. The door slowly creaked open and a bloody figure was shoved into the room.

"Look at the only things I got out of that failed mission, Milton," Airi lightly gasped at the disfigured face of the researcher she met. "My traitor Merle and his brother's lovely wife."

Milton sobbed as he locked eyes with the redhead, "I'm...I'm sorry."

"Oh, you will be," The Governor promised. "I got some more show-and-tell for you." He picked the small man up by the scruff on his shirt and dragged him from the room, slamming the door behind them.

"We gotta go or we'll soon be in shit city," Merle hissed as he fumbled with his handcuffed arm.

Airianna nodded as she started to try to slip out of her handcuffs. She quietly moaned in pain as her wrists were slowly becoming raw, "Merle this isn't working."

Before he could reassure the tired woman the door swung open again and he shot a heated glare at the Governor as he reentered the room without Milton.

"Where'd your pretty boy go?" Merle growled at the smirking man.

"Left him gutted with Andrea in the other room," He casually replied. "Sure she'll have fun with him." He chuckled at the looks he got from the family members, "Now what should I do with both of you, huh?"

He smugly walked over to the center of the room, circling the chair the mother was trapped in. As he paced around her he gently lifted her knotted hair in her hand and brought it to her face, inhaling its light scent. Airianna squeezed her eyes shut as he sniffed at her hair.

"Well, at least your hair doesn't reek of death," He gently whispered in her ear. He stepped back and messed with something behind her, and she tried to hold back her flinches as the sound of metal clanged in the room. The one-eyed man returned to the frightened woman's side with a towel and bowl of water. "Just here to clean you up."

Merle started to struggle in his position as the man closed in on his brother's wife. She tried to keep still as he sensuously wiped the blood off of her body, but she started to shake as he began to unbutton her shirt as he finished cleaning her arms and face.

"Hey, asshole!" The Governor paused his movements as Merle screamed at him. "Want to know somethin' fuckin' hilarious?"

"What Merle?" He asked while he continued to gaze at Airianna's slightly revealed chest. He lifted his hand but yelled as Merle stabbed him in the back with the knife still attached to his metal arm.

"Easy to slip cuffs if ya leave a knife on a fella," He grunted as he pulled back to stab the man again, but the pulled out his own knife and spun around, violently stabbing the redneck in the thigh. Merle moaned and fell to the ground, clutching his damaged leg.

"Merle, you of all people know not to interrupt my fun," He chastised the heavily injured man. "Now, I'm gonna have to take care of you later." He snapped his fingers and a man strode in, dragging Merle's bloody form from the room.

"Where...Where are you taking him?"

The Governor shot the woman an eerily soft smile, "Now that's none of your concern. Let's finish getting you tidied up." He waited until the door closed before he finished unbuttoning her flannel. The woman turned away as he brushed his hand over the fabric of her sports bra. He ran the towel up and down her chest, rubbing small circles into her skin. "There, doesn't that feel better?" Airi remained silent and the leader tutted, "fine, I'll just leave you alone and go check on Merle, or we can chat a bit and your brother-in-law can get some medical attention."

He shrugged his shoulders as she continued to her silence and turned to leave the room, "Is this what you do?"

He stopped his footsteps, "Excuse me?"

"You need to threaten a woman with people she cares about to get in her pants?" She guessed.

The man sighed and turned back around, "I spent plenty of time with Andrea, and she was quite complacent."

Airi lightly giggled and the Governor sneered, "You're not the first psycho she lept in bed with. I'm figuring she's not that pieced together properly if you get what I mean."

She gasped as he stormed over and slapped her across the face, "You know, I watched you rip a chunk out of my man, Martinez. A small one, but he'll have a nasty dip in his arm now," He pulled out a pocket knife and started to cut the side of her jeans. "Maybe you need to learn that your actions have consequences."

Airianna struggled in her restraints as she tried to squirm away from the man's crushing grip on her revealed thigh. He moved his head closer to her skin but stumbled back when her other leg flailed out and clipped him in the ribs. He rubbed his side before punching her in the face, smirking as he heard the crunch of her nose and her moans of pain.

"Hey, it's okay hon," He stroked her cheek in mock comfort. "I'll be back after I take a quick trip to the prison. I'll be sure to bring Daryl back for a charming family reunion."

He then kissed her cheek and strode from the room

Airianna jerked when the door opened but relaxed slightly when Merle was dragged back unconscious and without his prosthetics. She waited until the guard left before she struggled with her restraints again. She tried to steady her breathing and tucked her thumb into her palm before she shoved her hand into the metal armrest on the chair, holding back her discomfort as the joint slipped out of its socket. She pulled her left hand out of the cuff and pushed her thumb into her left knee to pop it back into place. With her hand free, she started to pat her face, twitching as her nose throbbed when her hand passed it.

Airi grabbed the crooked piece of cartilage and snapped it back in place, "God, okay...A little bit better," She moved her shaking feet off the ledge of the old medical chair and onto the ground, wobbling as she tried to balance her weight. She moved closer to Merle's slumped over form but grunted as the other handcuff on her right hand clanged on the armrest, "Merle, please wake up. We can't stay here."

When he remained quiet she glanced around the room for anything that could help. The room was filled with random pieces of furniture shoved against the other wall behind the chair she was attached to and she froze at the sight of a metal cart overflowing with surgical tools and hand made torture devices. Airianna stepped closer to the offending cart and strained to reach one of the pieces of wire and a scalpel. Using her new tools she bent the wire and slipped it into the lock of the cuff, attempting to use the scalpel as a tension wrench to pick the lock.

The soft click of the cuff opening made her smile and she pulled her right hand away from the chair, fumbling to rebutton her flannel with her shaking hands.

The doctor ran to Merle's side and flipped him over, smiling as she watched his chest rise and fall steadily. She checked his pulse, noting its steady beat. She turned to his thigh and ripped her sleeves off to tie them around his leg to stem the flow of blood. She paused as Merle mumbled and she eyed him as his eyelids flutter.

"What the hell happened?" He muttered as his eyes slowly refocused.

"You stabbed him, he stabbed you," She replied as she moved to check his arm. "I have to fix the bones."

She pushed on his forearm, maneuvering the bones back into place, "Fuck, ain't that peachy," Merle glanced at the redhead's swollen nose. "What he do?"

She stood up and rummaged through the furniture, picking up small pieces of wood and a ratty sheet covering a dresser. She came back over and ripped the sheet into strips, "Gave me a disgusting sponge bath, ripped my good jeans," She laid the wood against his arm and started to bind the limp straight with the fabric strips. "I kicked the shit out of him and he punched me."

"Sorry I dragged you into this," He mumbled.

She shrugged as she finished the makeshift cast, "He would've killed you if you went alone."

He closed his eyes and shook his head, "Maybe that's what I deserve."

"No, dying's easy. Living is hard," She sat down next to him and leaned back on the wall. "And you have never done the easy shit in life."

"Really?" He snorted. "The drugs and crime say otherwise."

"Doing the dirty work is hard," She rebutted.

The pair sat in silence as they both fought against passing out. She watched Merle closely as he drifted in and out of consciousness due to his slight blood loss. Airianna could barely keep her eyes open when she heard a door slam open somewhere nearby. Footsteps passed through her ears but she tightened her hand on the scalpel she grabbed and Merle struggled to sit up when they heard the door to the room creak open. Merle snarled at the African American man standing in the doorway, but Airi let out a sigh of relief at the familiar face.

"Tyreese," The man gazed at the two injured people in shock.

"Airianna, oh my God," He turned slightly to call out of the room. "Guys, in here!"

Three people ran into the room and Rick froze at the sight of Merle laying on the ground with blood covering him and his arm tightly bound as well as Airianna attempting to stay sitting up in ripped clothing and a bruised and bloodied face. Daryl dropped his crossbow and rushed to the side of his injured wife and brother, gently taking the redhead into his arms as she cried in happiness at seeing her husband again.

Michonne hung back by Tyreese as Rick moved to help Daryl with their hurt group members, "I had no idea he kept people here."

"He's real good at lying and manipulating," Michonne muttered. "Just glad we found them breathing."

The swordswoman stepped aside as Daryl left the room carrying his wife bridal style into the hallway, Rick following after with Merle lightly leaning on him as they walked. Rick leaned the large man against the wall and motioned to Michonne, "We gotta find Andrea." The two left the Dixons and Tyreese in the hall as they continued to sneak through the building.

They turned a corner and paused at a metal door with a pool of dark blood leaking out through the gap under the door.

"Will you open it?" He nodded at Michonne's request and flipped the latch on the door while keeping his gun raised. The door swung open and he glanced into the room, observing a dead body lying under a dentist chair. He lowered his gun when he caught sight of Andrea laying right next to the door.

Michonne rushed to her friend's side and the blonde smiled at her, "Andrea."

The blonde sluggishly sat up and looked at her friends, giving a small smile when Daryl walked int the room with Airi's arm wrapped around his waist as he held her up, "I tried to stop him."

"We did too," The doctor muttered.

Andrea nodded, "I could hear through the wall, I'm so sorry."

Michonne laid her hand on the woman's forehead and frowned, "You're burning up."

She pulled her jacket back and the group sadly watched the large bite mark on her neck come into view. Rick looked away in shame, but Andrea's voice pulled him back, "Judith, Carl, the rest of them…"

"Us," He cut in. "The rest of us."

"Are they alive?"

He nodded, "Yeah, they're alive," The blonde let out a raspy breath of relief.

She turned and grabbed Michonne's hand, "It's good you found them. No one can make it alone now." Michonne interlocked her fingers with Andrea's as she tried to hold in her tears.

Daryl shifted his wife closer to him, "I never could."

"I just didn't want anyone to die," Andrea admitted. She pushed herself up on the wall. "I can do it myself."

"No," Rick denied.

"I have to," She whispered. "While I still can." She raised her arm out to the leader, "Please? I know how the safety works."

Rick dumbly nodded and passed his handgun over to Andrea standing up to give her and Michonne some privacy.

As Rick reached the doorway she called out to him, "I tried."

"Yeah," He whispered. "You did. You did."

He walked back into the hallway and Daryl started to lead Airianna out to give the two best friends their space. The hunter leaned her head into the crook of his neck as they waited for the gunshot to ring out. She jumped slightly at the noise and sadly watched as Michonne stepped from the room alone. Daryl scooped her up again and walked to where Tyreese was waiting with Merle leaning against him as he grumbled. The small group of six exited the building to the crowd of women and children the Governor had spared from his previous massacre. Sasha gasped at the sight of the doctor, but Tyreese moved her along to help him load the Woodbury residents onto the small school bus they picked out.

Rick helped Merle into the car they drove to Woodbury and started to help Daryl get Airianna into the car when she shook her head, "Ya gotta get in the car, Annie," Daryl calmly said as she refused.

"I just have superficial wounds, I swear," She promised when the men gave her doubtful looks. "Just let me go with Daryl, please Rick."

Rick nodded his head and Daryl carried her over to the bike, "Don't you dare let go. I ain't losing you again."

"Never again," She agreed as she slipped onto the back of the seat. She tightened her arms around his waist and closed her eyes as they drove off, leaving the horrible town behind them.

The ride was pleasantly quiet as they drove back to the prison, the couple reveling in their company as the sun crested over the hills. Daryl pulled into the courtyard first and hopped off the bike, opening his arms for Airi to get off. Sophia ran up to the pair and gasped at the sight of the redhead, but ran into her arms regardless when she weakly kneeled to face the twelve-year-old. Maggie rushed over with Eren and checked the mother over, beaming at her friend as she passed the boy into his father's arms. Airianna watched as the civilians were led off the bus by Tyreese and Sasha and led into the prison while Michonne, Glenn, and Hershel brought Merle into C block to check on his injuries.

Rick wandered up to Carl as the boy watched everything going on with apprehension, "What is this?"

Rick motioned to the newcomers walking into the prison, "They're gonna join us." The boy stormed away from his father.

Rick glanced over to Airi and they shared a look of agreement, hopefully, things would start looking up now.


	29. Chapter 29

"Mama, daddy! Wake up!"

Airianna cracked her eyes open to the sight of her now three-year-old son bathed in sunlight as he shook her arm. She grinned at Eren's beaming face, brushing his shaggy hair out of his face.

"Morning, baby," She muttered as she felt Daryl grumble and roll over in the bed. "What are you doing up so early?"

"I'm hungry!" He wailed. The redhead flinched at her son's piercing screech.

Her husband leaned over her slightly and scooped up the toddler, tugging him into the bed with them, "Stop yelpin' ya little varmint," He tickled the child while Airi sat up in the bed and stretched as she watched her boys mess around.

"Daddy, stop it!" The boy pressed as he flailed in his father's arms. "Hungry!"

The mother smiled at them before she groaned and leaned over as she clutched her stomach. Daryl paused in his horsing around, "Everything alright Airi?"

"Fine, everything's fine Daryl," He leaned over and lightly kissed her on the lips before crawling out of the bed. He offered his hand to his wife and helped her up from her spot before scooping up their son and carrying him from the room to wake up his uncle.

Airianna pulled the sheets straight on the full-sized bed, fluffing the pillows after she tucked the sheets into their corners. She turned to the dresser on the other side of the room and pulled a pair of jeans out of one of the drawers along with a pale green baggy shirt. She quickly dressed and stepped from the room, giggling at the sight of a half-asleep Merle trying to shake Eren off of his metal arm as the boy swung from it by his arms.

"Eren, get off your uncle," He hopped from Merle's raised arm and ran over to his mom, "How about you go find Sophia? I'm sure she's making food with Beth and Maggie."

The boy took off down the stairs, stumbling as he reached the ground, but hopped back up and continued on his way into the common room. Airi glanced at Merle as Daryl passed her to get himself dressed for the day.

"Your son's an animal," Merle grunted as he rolled his shoulder.

"You like spending time with him though," She replied as he ducked into his room to toss on a flannel over his wife-beater.

"You right there, sugar," He conceded as he walked out and motioned for his sister-in-law to walk down the stairs. She rolled her eyes, but made her way down the stairwell, waving to Sasha as she passed the girl's cell. Most of the people from Woodbury had taken shelter in D block when the first arrived, but Rick insisted Sasha and Tyreese join the original group in C block, and the siblings happily agreed.

"Morning Airi, how you feeling?" Sasha asked as she joined her as she walked towards the common room.

"Better than yesterday, my nausea was off the charts."

The woman nodded, "I'm joining Daryl and Merle on the run today, heard their short a few people."

"Yeah," The redhead agreed. "More walkers have been piling up in the past few days."

The women passed through the common room where Beth was feeding Judith and out the door to the courtyard where they watched Eren and Sophia sitting at one of the outdoor tables with some of the other children crowding them. Most of the courtyard was bursting with potted plants scattered around the outdoor cooking area they built after they scavenged a construction site in the early summer. Airianna made her way over to the roofed area and motioned for the woman manning them to go relax. She watched the pork on the grill along with the children nearby, waving at Sophia as the thirteen-year-old tried to get along with two of the other girls sitting by her, Lizzie and Mika.

Apparently, it didn't go well for her since she swept up Eren and moved to a table closer to his mother. Airi quirked her brows at the girl but was distracted as Daryl wandered up to the cooking area with a large blush on his face as many of the people in the courtyard cheerfully greeted him.

He shuffled up to the counter and smirked at his wife, "Smells good."

"Just so you know, I liked you first," She grinned as she passed him a plate.

He shook his head as he dug into his meal, "Stop," He glanced around at the crowd of people in the courtyard. "You know, Rick brought in a lot of them too."

"Not recently," She countered. "Give the stranger sanctuary, keeping people fed, you're gonna have to learn to live with the love." She smirked as she pointed behind him, "Besides Merle looks even more uncomfortable than you do."

He looked back and watched as people greeted his brother as well, with Merle grunting in reply as he tried to get away from the attention, "Right."

"I need you to see something," She turned and noticed one of the teenage boys sitting nearby. "Patrick, you want to take over?"

The boy nodded and moved to stand by the doctor's side, "Yes ma'am," She passed the spatula to him. "Uh, Mr. Dixon?" Daryl paused and eyed the boy, "I just want to thank you for bringing that deer back yesterday. It was a real treat, sir. And I'd be honored to shake your hand."

Daryl shrugged his shoulders and licked each of his fingers clean before he slapped his hand into the boy's, giving him a light shake. Airi snorted and tilted her head towards the fields and he let Patrick's hand go to follow after his wife. They walked slowly up to the inner fence and she pointed out to the outer one where multiple people were attempting to take out the mass of walkers building up on the outside.

"About today, I don't know if we're gonna be able to spare a lot of people for the run," She said as they both watched the fences. "Sasha and Tyreese agreed to go, so that's a plus."

Daryl leaned back on his feet, "That place is good to go. We're gonna move on it," He blurted out as he continued to shove food in his mouth.

"Yeah," She side-eyed him. "The thing is, we had a pretty big build up overnight. Dozens more towards tower three. It's getting as bad as last month. They don't spread out anymore."

"With more of us in here, we're drawing more of them out," He theorized. "You get enough of those damn fence-clingers, they start to herd up."

She nodded as she ran her hands over her stomach, "Pushing against the fences again. It's manageable, but unless we get ahead of it, not for long."

Airi frowned at the growing issue, but Daryl placed his hand over hers on her belly, "Stressing's bad for you two."

She smiled, "I know. I have another check with Hershel and Doctor S. later today, they're guessing I'm near the end of the second trimester by now."

"Gonna end up with a spring kid this time around," Daryl guessed.

"Think you're right," She mumbled. "I gotta go check on Eren and Sophia, something was bothering her earlier."

"Alright," He grumbled as they started to make their way back to the outdoor kitchen. "No runnin' or shit."

Airi chuckled as he continued past her once she reached where Sophia and Eren were still sitting, "I promise. Kids and infirmary work for me."

"Damn straight," Merle added as he ran up to his brother. "Ya swollen up like a balloon again." The two wandered over to where Sasha and Tyreese were packing up the cars as Airi flipped off her brother-in-law while holding in a laugh.

She grunted as she took a seat next to Sophia and smirked ass Eren waved at her with messy hands, "Okay, what's up Sophia?"

"Nothing's up really," She muttered as she scuffed her feet on the ground. "Just bored. Carl's working with his dad all the time now."

"There are other kids to play with," She offered. "Patrick is a little bit older, but he seems nice."

"I guess everyone's just so childish," The blonde girl attempted to explain. "I mean I agreed to run storytime, and now it's all awkward talking to kids I read books to."

"I could do storytime, give you a break."

"No," Sophia shook her head. "I like doing it, just makes me realize how the other kids don't know how to take care of themselves."

Airi nodded, "Well, that's their parents' choice."

"I know."

Airianna picked up a rag on the table and cleaned her son's greasy hands, "So what sent you running from Lizzie and Mika this morning?"

Sophia furrowed her brows, "Lizzie's weird."

The mother stood up and swiped her boy into her arms, "They're new," She said. "Still getting their bearings."

"No, Lizzie's just weird," Sophia denied as she followed Airianna back into the block. "She does weird things."

"Like what?" She asked the girl as they walked through the halls to the prison's infirmary. The blonde shrugged her shoulders as the woman used the key around her neck to unlock the door to the room. They wandered in and Airi set Eren in a small playpen next to her desk.

Sophia hopped up on one of the examination beds and swung her feet, "She names the walkers."

"What?"

The doctor turned to face the young teen, "She noticed one of them had a name tag and she started to name more of them," Sophia whispered. "A bunch of the other kids joined in. I believe they think it's a game."

"Does Carl know?" She shook her head. "What about Rick? Or anyone else on the council." She shook her head again. "Do you want me to talk to her?"

"No, I think I can handle it," Sophia assured.

Airi bit her lip, but relented, "Alright, just let me know if you need help."

A knock on the door startled Sophia, but she relaxed when Maggie walked through the doorway and sat on one of the beds. The girl nodded at the short-haired woman and stepped from the room, granting her some privacy.

"Hey, Maggie," The doctor greeted. "What can I do for you?"

"I umm," She stuttered. "I need a pregnancy test. Just to check."

"Sure," Airi walked over to one of the metal cabinets and opened it, pulling out a boxed test and tossing it to the girl. "Got a bathroom through that door." She motioned to the only other door beside the exit in the infirmary and Maggie rushed to it.

Airianna sat at her desk while Maggie took her test and shuffled through some of the files she had. She was glad the rest of the council approved of reopening the infirmary for the growing group members. Now she and Doctor S. ran the small area and constructed medical files on everyone living in the prison. Most of the files consisted of normal things checked during a physical, with only a few of the group members having extra things for previous issues and allergies. She glanced at her own file and smirked, seeing the papers in Doctor S.'s cursive regarding her pregnancy.

When she first found out in the early weeks of summer it honestly scared her shitless. She and Daryl weren't planning on having another kid in the foreseeable future, but it appeared anyway. Hershel assured her they would take every precaution they could when she told him and Rick, especially since she wouldn't have to worry about being on the run like Lori was the past winter. Merle had found the whole situation hilarious and compared it to the last time she found out she was expecting, joking how she would soon be yacking everything up again.

Eren didn't fully understand, but he was happy to have a sibling. She thanked the small miracles.

The bathroom door creaked open and Airi turned to Maggie expectantly, "I'm not pregnant."

"Good to know," She pulled out the woman's file and jotted down the note. "Guessing you and Glenn were a bit worried."

"Yes, no offense Airi," Maggie sputtered as she realized who she was talking to. "Just, it would be hard. And you saw what happened to Lori, what I had to do."

"Yes, childbirth is hard and terrifying," The redhead agreed. "But I had Eren naturally, so I should be in the clear. Also helps that your father and Doctor S. are here to help."

"And Bob," Maggie added.

"Ah yeah," She moved and grabbed the file on the newest addition to the prison. "He was a field medic in the army. Not sure if he's delivered a baby, but he could help."

"Guess this is the safest place to have a kid," Maggie figured. "I just don't know if I'm ready for it yet."

"And that is completely fine if your not," Airianna assured. "Kids are hard, especially now. Honestly, if we didn't already have Eren I would be completely terrified." She got up from her seat and gave her friend a tight hug, "You and Glenn would be great parents."

"Thanks, Airi," Maggie pulled away and gestured to Eren. "Want me to take the little guy for a bit? I know daddy's coming to check on you soon." The mother nodded and Maggie scooped the little boy up and carried him from the room.

She smiled at her father as he and Doctor S. stepped into the infirmary as she carried Eren out, "Hey Hershel, how's the leg?"

The older man smiled at the expecting mother, "Works mighty well. It's a good thing Merle recalled the warehouse he found his arm in."

"How are you doing?" Doctor S. asked as he motioned for the female doctor to sit on one of the examination beds. "Any odd pains?"

"No," She answered as he lightly pressed on her stomach. Herschel walked over with a stethoscope and placed it on her bump. "I think she's doing great."

"Thinking it's a girl?" Herschel wondered as he listened to the heartbeat of the fetus.

"Eren's a big momma's boy, so I figured Daryl needs a daddy's girl," She mumbled.

"Blood pressure's a bit high," The Arabic doctor muttered. "Might have you take a break from all the overtime you've been having."

She rolled her eyes, "Come on, Siddiq. I've been treating minor things and sorting files. That's as easy as it gets."

"I mean your other work," He commented. "Anyone ever needs a hand and you suddenly pop up. I know being on the council is a lot of responsibility, but you can't overwork yourself."

"I have to agree with him," Hershel chimed in. "Taking it a bit easier will be better for the baby long term."

"Okay," She begrudgingly agreed as she stood up. "How about I check in on storytime? That's easy work."

"No complaints here," Siddiq said as he moved to sit in the behind the desk. "I'll watch the clinic."

She smiled at the two men and slowly walked out of the office, slightly waddling as she made her way towards the library. As she shuffled along she bumped into Carl, who embarrassingly admitted he was going to storytime as well, but just to visit Sophia. The mother smiled at the boy's obvious crush on her adoptive daughter and wrapped her arm around him as they walked together. They quietly peeked their heads into the doorway and noticed a few parents left in the room as Sophia sat in the middle of a semi-circle of the other children.

The blonde lifted the book she was reading closer to her face, "The children fastened their eyes upon their bit of candle and watched it melt pitilessly away," Carl grabbed Airi's arm and pulled her behind one of the bookshelves to avoid the attention of the other kids. "Saw the half-inch of wick stand alone at last. Saw the feeble flame rise and fall. Climb the thin tower of smoke. Linger at its top a moment and then..." Sophia lifted her eyes from the book as the final parent rose from his seat and wandered from the room, leaving her alone with the other kids.

"Sophia? Should I take watch now?" One of the younger boys asked.

She nodded as she opened up the trunk she was sitting on, "Yes, Luke, you do that," Carl and Airi watched as she pulled a tray of knives from the crate and set it in front of the kids. "Today, we are talking about knives. How to use them, how to be safe with them, and how they could save your life."

"Sophia, may I be dismissed?" Patrick asked.

"What is it?"

He shifted, "I'm not feeling very well."

The girl scoffed, "Sometimes you have to fight through it."

"Yeah, but I don't want to yack on somebody," He awkwardly admitted.

"Okay," She motioned to the door. "Go to the infirmary and get checked, they have stuff for nausea." The teen nodded and rushed from the room, passing Carl and Airianna's hiding place. They two eyed each other as Sophia continued her secret lesson. "Okay, we're going to learn how to hold a knife, how to stab and slash, and where to aim for…" She trailed off as she caught sight of Carl and the female Dixon.

Airianna crossed her arms while she glared at the thirteen-year-old, "So this is why you didn't want help with storytime?"

She helplessly looked between the pair, "Please don't tell your father," She begged to Carl. The boy sneered and stormed from the library.

"Kids," The group glanced up shamefully at the pregnant woman. "Storytime is over for today, go do something else before dinner." The small group of children shuffled past her as she kept her gaze on Sophia.

"I'm sorry," The girl blurted out when they were the only ones left in the library. "I thought if they learned survival stuff they would stop messing around."

"Where'd you get all the knives?" The redhead asked as she approached her.

"A few from the kitchen and a few from your and Daryl's cell," She guilty admitted.

"This the first lesson with weapons?" Or have you been stealing more?"

Sophia rapidly shook her head, "This is the first. I started last week with safe berries and plants to eat. In case they got lost."

Airianna nodded as she pulled out a chair and sat down, "Why did you not ask for permission first? I'm sure no parent would argue with lessons on foods and tracking."

"Cause they need to know more than that!" The blonde yelled. "They are defenseless, and I remember when I got lost. I didn't know how to do anything! If you weren't there…"

"You would have been just fine," She tried to assure the girl.

"No, I'd be dead."

"It's not healthy to dwell on the past too much," Airi said as she pulled Sophia into her arms. "You're here and we're safe. But if you want to keep this up you have to talk to their parents and the council."

"Okay," The girl dejectedly agreed. "They'll say no though."

"Maybe for the real little ones like Luke, but I'm sure Patrick and Lizzie could learn just fine," The redhead suggested as she stroked Sophia's hair. "But no more sneaking around. And you may want to apologize to Carl."

"Yeah, you're right," She glumly admitted as she pulled away from her arms.

The mother motioned the teen toward the door, "Go on and find him." Sophia nodded and walked from the room to find her old friend. Airianna sighed and got up from her chair and made her way back to C block.

As she entered the common room she smiled at Maggie holding Eren but paused when she noticed Merle and Daryl were back but had grim looks on their faces.

"What happened?" She asked as Maggie passed Eren over to her.

"Walkers fell outta the ceiling like a pinata," Merle grunted. "They got Zack."

"I'm gonna tell Beth," Daryl muttered as he walked towards the cells.

Airianna walked up to her brother-in-law, "Is everyone else alright?" He nodded. She gave him a weak smile and moved over to grab a small bowl of rice and vegetables Maggie had laid out for dinner. "Come and eat old man."

He chuckled and grabbed a bowl for himself, "Who you callin' ol' man?"

"You," She got out through her mouthful of food.

"I ain't that old," He insisted.

"Right," She sarcastically agreed. "And I'm not like 6 months pregnant."

They eyed each other before they burst out laughing. Daryl rejoined them and furrowed his brows at their mirth.

"What happened?"

Airi passed him a bowl of food, "Called Merle old."

"Ain't that the truth," He agreed as he dove into his food. "Older than a saggy sack of ass."

"Hell that even mean, baby brother?" Merle snapped as he dropped his empty bowl in the tub of dirty dishes.

"Does it matter?" Her husband asked. "You old, get over it."

"Well I'm spry for my age then," He defended as he flexed his arm muscles. Eren giggled at his uncle's exaggerated movements and the small family broke into light laughter once more.

Airianna finished her meal and took Eren upstairs to put him to sleep in the room next to hers and Daryl's. Once the toddler was fully asleep she waddled over to her room and smiled at Daryl's form already laying on the bed. She changed into a tank top and shorts and slipped under the covers to join her husband, smiling as he wrapped his arm around and pulled her close for the night.


	30. Chapter 30

Airianna tightened the hair tie she wrapped around her hair, making sure her ponytail would hold. She smiled as Rick and Carl walked past her in the common area, "Why you up so early? Don't you need to rest?" She rolled her eyes at the ex-sheriff's concern.

"I'm gonna go to D block and check on Patrick," She explained. "He said he was nauseous yesterday at storytime and I don't want him getting the other kids sick."

"Alright," Rick nodded. "Holler if you need anything."

"I will," She promised.

She scooped up her small first aid kit and waved to Beth as she walked in with Judith in her arms before she made her way out of C block. Airi walked out into the courtyard to reach D block quicker than cutting through the shower room but paused as she glanced back at the block were Daryl was still trying to wrestle Eren into clothes while Merle was most likely still sawing logs. She smiled at the thought before she finished her trek and reached the door to D block. She slid the door open and slipped into the small hallway. She slowed her walking when she noticed it was eerily quiet, but broke into a sprint for the door to the block when the sound of a gunshot went off. She froze at the doorway as she watched the people in D block shooting at a small group of walkers attacking them.

She rushed into the block and grabbed onto Lizzie and Mika pulling them away from a walker that jumped onto their father and shoving them into an empty cell before pushing the door shut. She pulled out her knife and jabbed it into the walker on their father's arm and pushed him into another empty cell.

"We have to cut off your arm, Ryan. Right now," She closed the cell door to keep more walkers away from her and the injured man, but Mark just shook his head.

"No, you need to get out," He pulled his shirt away from his shoulder to reveal another bite mark resting on his neck. She sighed at the fatal injury but silently agreed.

She slipped out of the cell and screamed when a walker lunged at her, but a knife jabbed into the back of its skull and Airianna breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Glenn. She watched as Rick, Daryl, Merle, Tyreese, and Sasha sprinted in and started to help with the mass of monsters attacking the D block residents. Glenn grabbed her arm and tried to pull her out of the block but she pushed his arm off of her when she noticed Luke crawling away from a walker that looked suspiciously like his older brother.

She ran up the stairs to the second floor and shot the walker coming at the small child with the gun from her holster. She swept the boy into her arms and held him close as he sobbed, and started to run back down the stairs when she was cut off by another corpse making its way up towards her.

Rick lunged at the walker in her way and motioned for her to go, "Run, get out of here!"

She carried the boy out of the block and into the hallway where the rest of the survivors of the attack were. She passed Luke to Karen before rushing back in to grab Lizzie and Mika. She pulled open the door and the two girls clung to her as she dragged them from the bloody room.

"We're clear!" Rick called. Airianna walked back into the block and followed the sound of the others up the stairs where they were looking at a walker drenched in blood lumbering in one of the closed cells. She glanced down to see Merle in Ryan's cell talking to him before he put the dying man out of his misery.

"How did this happen?" Glenn asked.

Rick stabbed the corpse through the bars before he opened the door to observe it, "No bites, no wounds. I think he just died."

Airianna nodded as she and Doctor S. looked at the trail of blood coming from its mouth, "Horribly too, pleurisy aspiration."

"He choked to death on his own blood," Hershel agreed as he glanced in the cell. "Caused those trails down his face."

"I've seen them before," Rick said. "On a walker outside the fences."

"I saw them on Patrick, too," Daryl muttered as he stood by his wife.

"There from the internal lung pressure building up," Airi explained. "Like if you shake a soda can and pop the top."

"Only imagine your eyes, ears, nose, and throat are the top," Siddiq added.

Bob furrowed his brows, "It's a sickness from the walkers?"

"No, these things happened before they were around," Doctor S. replied. "Could be pneumococcal. Most likely an aggressive flu strain."

"Someone locked him in just in time," Hershel chimed in.

Daryl shook his head, "Nah, man. Charlie used to sleepwalk. Locked himself in. Hell, he was just eatin' barbecue yesterday. How could somebody die in a day just from a cold?"

"I had a sick pig," Rick muttered. "It died quick. Saw a sick boar in the woods."

Hershel sighed, "Pigs and birds. That's how these things spread in the past. We need to do something about those hogs."

"Maybe we got lucky," Doctor S. theorized. "Maybe these two cases are it."

Bob shrugged, "Haven't seen anybody be lucky in a long time. Bugs like to run in close quarters. Doesn't get any closer than this."

"All of us in here, we've all been exposed," Airianna regretfully said. "And we may be fine, may not even have the symptoms until it's too late to treat."

"So this thing will kiss us?" Daryl hissed.

"Not the virus itself, per se," Airi corrected. "But the symptoms are the killers. The fever, the blood in your lungs…"

"We need to quarantine from the rest of the prison," Hershel insisted. "Keep away from anyone who hasn't been exposed yet. The council should meet and talk about this."

"Alright, I'll round us up," Daryl said as he helped his wife out of the cell and down to the library, waving for Sasha to follow after them. Soon enough Airianna was sitting at a table with Daryl, Sasha, Hershel, and Glenn.

Glenn sighed, "Patrick got sick yesterday, and he died overnight. Two people died that quick?" He glanced at the other people at the table. "We have to separate everyone that's been exposed."

"That's everyone in that cell block," Daryl pointed out. "That's all of us, maybe more."

Hershel nodded, "We know that this sickness can be lethal. We don't know how easily it spreads. Is anyone else showing symptoms that we know of?"

"Not that I've seen," The redhead chimed in. "But we can't just wait and see. Some children could've been exposed. It isn't just the illness. If people die, they come back as walkers."

"We need a place for them to go," Hershel decided. "They can't stay in D. We can't risk going in there to clean it up."

"We could use cell block A," Sasha suggested.

"Death row?" Glenn scoffed. "I'm not sure if that's much of an upgrade."

"It's clean, that's an upgrade," Daryl added. "Think that will work for Doctor S?"

"I'll help Caleb get it set up," Hershel offered.

Coughing from the hall drew the council's attention and Airi rose from her seat and followed Daryl into the hall. She watched as Tyreese walked with Karen, who appeared pale and sweaty.

"You sure Karen? You don't sound so good," The female doctor observed as Daryl pushed her back to keep her away from the pathogens.

Tyreese smiled at Airi, "I'm just taking her back to my cell so she can rest."

"Tyreese, I don't think that's a good idea," Hershel said as he walked to the front of the group.

Karen looked confused, "Why? What's going on now?"

Glenn glanced at the woman, "We think it's a flu or something. That's how Patrick died."

"Judith is in that cell block, so is Eren," Hershel pointed out. "They're vulnerable. Anyone that may be sick or even exposed should stay away."

"It killed Patrick?"

"She gonna be okay," Tyreese pressed. "Now that we know what Patrick died from we can treat it, right?"

"We're going to figure this out, Tyreese," Airi promised. "But first we need to quarantine Karen so she doesn't get anyone else sick. We'll have Doctor Siddiq take a look at her. Is there anyone else that has been feeling ill?"

Karen nodded, "David from the Decatur group. He's been coughing, too."

"I'll get him," Glenn mumbled as he walked away. "There's some empty clean cells in the tombs, right?"

"Yeah," Sasha assured. "Down near solitary. We'll meet you there." She and Tyreese walked after Glenn with Karen between them.

"Have to call another meeting later," Hershel muttered.

"Alright," Daryl agreed. "I'll get to burying the dead ones."

"Wear gloves and a mask," Hershel ordered. Daryl nodded and Hershel walked away to collect Doctor S. and set up A block for any patients they may have in the future.

Daryl glanced at his wife, "You all right?"

She shook her head, "Worried about the baby. I was in there."

"We all were," He said. "Karen and David are gonna be separated till they feel better."

"I know, just worried," She admitted. "Are you okay?"

He bit his lip, but nodded, "Got to be." She gave him a small smile and pulled him into a hug. Daryl held her tight and kissed her forehead before he walked away to take care of the bodies in D block.

Airianna walked outside and collected some of the water from the rain barrels to bring to Karen and David when she noticed Merle walking towards her with shovels in his arms, "Going to help Daryl?"

He nodded, "You good?"

"Just worried," She replied. "We all got exposed in there so I'm a bit scared for the baby. And with Karen and David sick too I'm worried we're going to have an epidemic on our hands."

Merle lowered the shovels and clapped his left hand lightly on her shoulder, "Don't you worry sis, ol' Merle got you covered. Now I got to see to my baby brother."

She smiled at her brother-in-law and pour some more water as he walked away. She heard a commotion by the fence and watched as Merle dropped the shovels to run after Rick and Daryl as they moved to help with the walkers piling up. She watched worriedly before she noticed someone calling her name behind her. She turned around to see Sophia standing by the door to C block.

"Are you okay?" She asked the pregnant woman.

"Doing fine," She answered Sophia. "What about you and Eren? And Judith?"

"We're all fine, Rick said we have to stay away from you guys," The blonde sadly said.

"Just a precaution for now, no need to worry," She promised the girl. "Can you keep an eye on him? I have to go check on Karen and David." Sophia smiled and nodded before slipping back into C block.

Airianna carefully carried the water back into the tombs and paused when she reached A block. She knocked on the door and Caleb walked up to the other side, unlocking the door for her.

"You shouldn't be here, you're pregnant," He said as he helped her carry the water in.

"And I'm a doctor," She rebutted. "I have to help."

"Well, I could use some help sorting stuff out, but hen you have to leave," She smiled at her friend and moved further into the block.

She went from room to room folding towels and laying them on the end of each bed. She added containers of water in each area of cells so people would have full access to it. She then spent some time boiling some of the water so she could clean all of the medical tools in case people needed emergency medical attention while they were there. She double-checked the hand pumps for assisted breathing, sighing at the fact they only had two of them when a scream ran out in the prison. She jumped to her feet and rushed out of A block following the scream to the hallway Karen and David were placed in.

The doctor waddled to their cells and gasped at the trails of blood leading from the cell to a door with access to an empty courtyard. She opened the door and gagged at the sight and smell before her. Tyreese kneeled between two burnt corpses, crying as he glanced at the arm of one of them, a bouquet of flowers next to his knees. Airi moved closer to them and gasped when she recognized the bracelet sitting on one of the bodies' arms.

"Karen, oh my God."

Rick came rushing out and he paused at the carnage in front of him. Airianna felt arms around her and she turned to see Daryl and Merle there as well. She sniffled and leaned into her husband as she turned back to the bodies.

"You found them like this?" Rick asked.

Tyreese turned and glared at the man, "I came to see Karen...and I saw the blood on the floor. Then I smelled them," He paused before he jumped to his feet. "Somebody dragged them out here and set them on fire! They killed them and set them on fire!" He stormed up to Rick and Daryl let go of his wife to move closer to the grieving man, "You're a cop. You find out who did this and you bring them to me. You understand? You bring them to me."

"We'll find out who-"

Tyreese stepped closer, "Do I need to say it again?"

Rick shook his head, "No. No. I know what you're feeling. I've been there. You saw me there. It's dangerous."

"Karen didn't deserve this," Tyreese snapped.

"No," Rick agreed.

"David didn't deserve this," He continued. "Nobody does."

Daryl stepped up to Tyreese, "Alright, man. Let's-"

Tyreese lunged at Daryl and flung him into the wall. Airianna moved to help, but Merle shoved her behind him as he raised his handgun at the man on top of his brother, "Man, I ain't going nowhere till I find out who did this!"

Daryl lifted his hand to keep Rick and Merle from pulling the tall man off of him. He turned his gaze to Tyreese, "We're on the same side, man."

"Hey, look," Rick whispered. "I know what you're going through. We've all lost someone. We know what you're going through right now, but you've got to calm down."

Tyreese let go of Daryl and pushed Rick away from him, "You need to step the hell back!"

"Tyreese!" He paused at the voice of the pregnant woman.

"She wouldn't want you being like this," Tyreese saw red and flung his fist at Rick, clipping him in the jaw. Merl and Daryl ran up and pulled the angry man away from the ex-sheriff.

"That's _enough_," Merle hissed as he held the black man back.

Airianna helped Rick to his feet and grabbed his hand to keep him away from Tyreese, but he pulled away from her and punch Tyreese in the face. His hit sent the man to the ground and rick started to kick at his stomach. He got on top of him and continued to punch the man in the face.

"Rick, stop!" Airi yelled as Darly shoved Rick off of Tyreese.

"Let go of me!" He yelled at Daryl.

"No!"

Rick slipped out of Daryl's grip but paused when she noticed the blood on his hand and Airianna running to Tyreese's side to check his now bloodied face. She had Merle help her to get the now sobbing man up and she dragged both of them to the infirmary. Merle tossed Tyreese on one of the beds while Airi had Rick sit at the desk she grabbed some hydrogen peroxide and gauze as she checked his hand over. She waved her husband and brother-in-law off as she started to treat her first patient.

"It's going to be sprained at least a week, " She muttered as she cleaned the blood off. "Good news, none of these cuts need stitches."

Rick looked away from her as she began to dress his wound, "It hurts."

"Not a surprise, but are you okay?" She asked. "It's odd of you to go off on a grieving man like that. We just went through something terrible. Everything that we've been working so hard to keep out, it found its way in."

He watched her wrap the gauze around his hand tightly, "No. It's always there."

"We're having a council meeting tomorrow morning," She said. "Thought you should know. We just lost twelve of our own. Two more were killed in cold blood. We could be facing an outbreak."

"I think I've done enough damage for one day," He grunted.

Airi snorted as she glanced at Tyreese's unconscious form, "I'll say. Got a good arm though. But you have responsibilities, people to keep safe. So you better pull your shit together, Rick."

Rick nodded and thanked her for the wrapping before he stumbled out of the infirmary. She then turned her gaze to Tyreese and grabbed a wet rag to clean his wounds. She had started to wipe the blood up when his eyes snapped open and he grasped at her wrist.

"Tyreese," She hissed as he added more pressure to his grip. "Tyreese, let go. You're hurting me. Tyreese!" He shook his head and dropped her now throbbing wrist, stumbling to his feet. He mumbled a weak apology as he ran from the office, leaving the pregnant woman clutching her bruised wrist.

The next day she watched worriedly from the courtyard as Tyreese dug two graves at a harsh and unrelenting pace. She sighed as rubbed her hand over the hand-shaped bruise which she attempted to cover with one of her flannels.

"I'm gonna be okay though, right?" She turned her head at Glenn's voice and watched him walk up with Hershel. "I mean, Karen and David, they were already sick. So if we were gonna get it, we'd have it by now."

"It doesn't happen on a timeline," Hershel ruefully said as Airianna walked up to join their conversation. "It's different with everyone."

"But we could be okay," The Korean man said hopefully.

"Yeah, we could be," Hershel guessed. "Everything could be okay."

Glenn sighed, "If it's walkers, if it's people, we can do something. We can fight. But with this, I'm just digging graves."

"We are trying to fight it," Airi spoke up. "Each and every one of us, but it's hard without backup. So we have to get some anti-inflammatories and antibiotics soon."

They heard coughing behind them and looked to see Sasha leaning against the wall, sweating heavily. Hershel walked up to her, but she raised her hand and he paused, "Got to see Doctor S. I'm gonna be okay."

She slowly started to make her way to A block and the trio watched mournfully as another one of their friends was stricken with the sickness. The three of them quickly made their way to the library to meet up with Daryl, starting the council meeting a member short. Michonne showed up to stand in for Sasha, but she stood at the other end of the library to keep her distance from the others.

"It's spread," Hershel said as everyone took their seats. "Everyone who survived the attack in cellblock D. Sasha, Caleb, and now others."

Daryl rubbed his hands over his face, "Oh, Jesus."

"So what do we do?" Michonne asked.

"First things first. Cellblock A is isolation," Airianna confirmed. "We keep the sick people there like we tried with Karen and David."

"The hell we gonna do about that?" Daryl asked.

"Ask Rick to look into it," Hershel advised. "Try to make a timeline, who's where when."

"What are we gonna do to stop this?" Glenn muttered.

"There is no stopping it," Hershel proclaimed. "You get it, you have to go through it."

Michonne sighed, "But it just kills you?"

Hershel shook his head, "The illness doesn't."

"The symptoms do," Airi explained. "We need antibiotics."

"We've been through every pharmacy nearby," Daryl replied. "And then some."

"That veterinary college at West Peachtree Tech, that's one place people may not have thought to raid for medication," Hershel pointed out. "The drugs for animals there are the same we need."

Daryl shrugged, "That's fifty miles. Too big a risk before. Ain't now. I'm gonna take a group out. Best not waste any more time." He hopped up from his seat and patted his wife on the shoulder.

Michonne stepped up, "I'm in."

Hershel glanced at her, "you haven't been exposed. Daryl has. You get in a car with him…"

"He's already given me fleas," Airi snorted at her joke.

Hershel nodded, "I can lead the way. I know where everything's kept."

Daryl quirked his brows at the older man, "When we're out there, it's always the same. Sooner or later we run."

"I can draw you a map," Daryl and Michonne started for the door when Hershel spoke up again. "There are other precautions I feel we should take."

"Like what?" The swordswoman asked.

"There's no telling how long it'll be before Daryl and his group return," He noted. "Wouldn't it make sense to separate the most vulnerable? We can use the administration side of the building. Separate office, separate room."

"Who is the most vulnerable?" Glenn asked.

"The very young," The redhead answered. "The very old," She eyed Hershel. "And me. The very pregnant."

With her words, the group separated after they agreed she and Hershel would head to the administration building with the children. They waited until the children were moved before they collected their small bags of belongings and each picked out an office. They agreed Beth would stay in an office with Judith, as she was the youngest of the group and needed to be the most isolated. Eren wailed to be with his mother, but as she stood at the end of the hall staring at Sophia and her little boy she knew he needed to stay with the blonde and Carl. Carl promised to keep an eye on the pair along with the other children, and she sadly waved to her son from across the hall.

Now she and Hershel were sitting in an office together as the time tick on. She knew that if she was feeling completely and utterly useless that he must feel it tenfold. They were both doctors, they could be helping the sick, but instead they were sheltered away from the rest to protect themselves. She knew that her being pregnant made it all the more dangerous for her and the baby, but her instincts to help were driving her up the damn wall. She watched as Hershel flipped through papers on the desk before he rose to his feet.

He motioned for her to follow and Airianna got to her feet. The pair walked from the office and out to the hall when they heard footsteps behind them, "Where are you going?"

"We're down here away from y'all 'cause you kids are supposed to stay away from us," Hershel said to Carl as he eyed them both.

"I've been walking the halls," Carl admitted. "My dad told me to look out for everyone."

Airi smiled at the boy, "Well, you should still keep your distance from us."

"You guys are walking towards the exit."

Hershel nodded, "We need to go out there."

"To the cell blocks?" Carl asked.

"To the woods," Airi bit her lip at Hershel's blunt admission.

The thirteen-year-old boy sighed, "So you guys are sneaking out."

"Don't need anyone worrying about us and I damn sure don't want someone telling me I can't go," The older man claimed.

"I'm just here to keep an eye on Hershel," Airi said.

"Then let me go to keep an eye on you," She gave Carl a doubtful look. "You're pregnant and Daryl would kill me if he knew you went out to the woods without extra backup."

She sighed and waved to him to follow. Carl walked up to them and walked in step with the redhead as Hershel led them out of the building and past the fences. They reached the treeline easily enough and the female doctor watched as Hershel started to search for and pick elderberries. She smirked at his thinking and joined him in picking the small berries, holding her shirt as a makeshift basket.

The teen watched the pair pick the berries with apprehension, "When did your dad give it back?"

Carl glanced down at the silenced gun in his hand, "Yesterday. After everything happened."

"You've grown a lot these last few months," Hershel muttered as he moved to another bush. "There's a responsibility about you. I think it's done you good to step back."

"Yeah, it was alright," Carl absently admitted. "Can't be like that all the time."

"It's peaceful out here," Airi whispered.

Hershel nodded, "Might be safer out here than inside at the moment."

"No, we're not," Carl said as he motioned to the left. The two adults glanced over to where a ripped up tent was sitting by one of the trees. Airi withdrew her gun and walked near Carl as they approached the scene. She paused and motioned to a moss-covered walker stuck under a tree branch. They turned around when they heard a clanging noise and watched another walker stumble from the woods with a bear trap latched to one of its legs.

Carl raised his gun at it, but Hershel shook his head, "Don't. You don't need to."

"It was so peaceful…"

"It was," Carl agreed as he started back towards the prison. "Can't be like that all the time."

They got back to the prison and Airianna passed her load of berries over to Hershel, tilting her head over to A block and Hershel nodded in agreement. She glanced at Carl and smiled at the boy, "So how's my son doing?"

"He's good, Sophia's great at watching him," Carl said, blushing slightly when he mentioned the blonde girl.

Airianna smiled knowingly at the boy, "I'm sure she is. He's always adored her so much."

Carl turned to open the door for her but paused when he noticed Hershel was missing, "Where'd Hershel go?"

"Oh, Hershel?" She asked as if she just noticed he was gone as well. "I think he went to go make tea out of those berries. Then he'll go give it to Merle so he can have the pleasure of bothering Doctor S."

"Why tea?"

"Elderberries have a chemical in them that can help bring down fevers," She explained as they walked through the halls of the admin side of the building. "So they'll be a good thing until Daryl and Michonne return with the meds."

Carl nodded and smiled at her, about to say something else when Sophia came running down the hall, "Sophia? What's wrong?" Carl asked as he rushed up to her.

The girl stepped back from him and Airianna caught sight of a small bundle lying in her arms. She ran around Carl and passed the form in her arms to Airi, "It's Eren. He collapsed and he's sweating something awful."

The mother pulled back the blanket wrapped around the child and gasped at the pale sickly face of her little boy.


	31. Chapter 31

"Why the ever-lovin' fuck are you in there, Airi?" Merle yelled at her through the glass of the A block visitation room. "I know ya a doctor, but that is stupid as all hell."

"Merle," She mumbled.

"No!" He snapped. "You're pregnant and Daryl wants me to watch your ass."

"Merle."

"And you gonna die if you stay-"

"Merle! Eren's sick," He froze at her words. "He's in here and I can't leave him."

"How?" He asked. "He was quaren...somethin'? Ya know, he was away from all this shit."

"He liked to go wave at the pigs, remember?" She said. "And they got sick, and now he's sick. It's the only thing I can think of."

"Son of a bitch," He smashed his metal arm against the glass. "Perfect fuckin' timin' I guess."

She eyed him, "What do you mean?"

"Rick is draggin' me on a run, somethin' about grabbin' any meds we can find till Darylina gets back," He grumbled.

Airianna wiped her eyes, "Well that's smart. Look for any Ibuprofen. That's what will help fight the fever. Motrin, Tylenol, all the fixings."

"Got it," He leaned back on his heels and scuffed his feet. "You be careful in there, ya hear me? Don't go play yourself a hero now. Your boy needs ya."

"I know," She agreed. "Hershel put Eren on the second floor with Glenn and Sasha, so he's a bit away from the others. His fever isn't that high right now and he's still breathing easy so that's a blessing."

"Good," He glanced away and brushed his hand against his face. "I'll be back soon, I promise. Keep the little ankle bitter alive, alright?"

"I will, be safe okay, Merle? You've kinda grown on me," Her brother-in-law smirked before she strode from the room.

Airianna watched him leave as she worriedly rubbed her stomach. She sighed and made her way back into A block, quickly passing by rows of coughing people as she rushed for the stairs. She climbed them quickly and waved to Hershel as he gave a small cup of tea to Glenn. The Korean man took it gratefully and nodded to the female doctor as she walked by. The other doctor passed her one of the teacups and she smiled at him as she continued to Eren's room.

She paused at the doorway and looked in on her son lying in the bed. She was too small for the twin mattress and it made him look even weaker as he sat there shivering, "Hey baby, how you feeling?"

"Cold, mama," Eren muttered as he tried to get deeper under the blanket. "And thirsty."

"Here sit up," She helped him sit against the wall as she lifted the cup to his lips. "Drink this, it will make you feel better."

He leaned into the cup and started to chug the steaming liquid, Airi stroked his damp hair back from his forehead as he consumed the healing tea. She pulled the cup away and he coughed loudly. She rubbed his back as his coughing subsided and moved to lay him back under the covers. Airianna placed a light kiss on his forehead and smiled a bit and the only slight warmth radiating off of his skin.

She tucked him back into the covers, "Mama's gotta go check on uncle Glenn, alright? But I'll be right back."

Eren gave a weak nod, "Pizza alright?"

She giggled at her son's nickname for the Korean man, "He's just tired like you Eren."

Eren snuggled back into the bed as his mother stepped from the room and pushed the barred door closed. He was the youngest in the block, with Lizzie the close second, and she wasn't going to risk anything happening to him if she wasn't there. She walked back over to where Hershel was still with Glenn.

"What can I do to help Hershel?"

The older man glanced at the pregnant woman, "I would prefer if you leave, but seeing your son is here I won't get that, will I?" She shook her head. "Right then, check on the other's vitals. If the door is shut don't open it, they're too sick for you to be around with your condition."

"Alright," She made her way back down the stairs and moved to the cell where Lizzie was sitting reading a book. "Hey Lizzie, I'm here to check on you."

The girl smiled at her and she moved to check her temperature, frowning as 102 flashed on the screen. She motioned for the girl to open her mouth and she shined a flashlight in her mouth.

"How am I?" She asked.

"Got a bit of a fever, but your airway is clear," She grabbed the still full cup of tea sitting by her bed. "You need to drink this, it can lower your fever."

She girl groaned, "It tastes weird."

"Tough," Airi replied. "Eren drank it like a champ so suck it up." Lizzie gave a lighthearted glare to the woman but sipped at the tea. "See, is that so hard?"

"What if I don't get better?" Lizzie mumbled. "Will you let me be different?"

"Different?" She furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?"

"Like Nick," Lizzie whispered.

The female doctor sighed, "Is that the walker Sophia told me about?"

"Yeah," She said. "If I stay alive and grow, I become a different person. If I die, I become a different person. So it's not that strange."

"Honey," Airi glanced at the sick girl. "Coming back as one of those walkers doesn't just make you different, _you_ are gone. Forever."

"You can't know that!" Lizzie snapped.

"Went to the CDC when this all started," The redhead explained. "Met a scientist, a very smart man. He had learned that the infection kills your whole brain. It just leaves the brain stem working. So the body can move, but _you_ are gone. And _you_ can never come back."

The girl rapidly shook her head, "You're wrong. I know you're wrong."

Airianna sighed, but got up from the girl's side and left the room, moving onto her next patient. As she was passing by many of the closed doors she glanced in one open and watched as Hershel tried to move a body onto a gurney by himself.

"Need help, Hershel?" The man reluctantly nodded his head and she helped move the body onto the gurney before they pushed it away. Hershel waved her off, insisting he takes care of the man before he turned.

She made her way back out to the main area of the block but paused when she heard somebody gasping for breath. She moved up the stairs to the cell next to Glenn where one of the D block residents, Henry, was clutching at his throat. She rushed to Eren's room where she grabbed an intubating tube and blade along with a hand use oxygen bag from the duffle bag under the boy's bed before she flew back to Henry's room. The man was now on the floor as he wheezed for air and she yelled for Hershel and Glenn. The Korean man stumbled from his room and Sasha appeared from the hall and she ordered them to hold the man down so she could intubate him. She lodged his head between her knees and forced his mouth open slipping the blade past his teeth and tongue to the back of his throat. She pushed down on the epiglottis to keep it from opening when he started to twitch.

"Henry, I need you to calm down," She said as he continued to jerk. "We're trying to help."

His fidgeting stopped and she grabbed the intubation tube and started to slide it down his throat, smiling as it passed into the trachea safely. She gently pulled the blade away and attached the bag to the tube starting the manual compressions. Henry's breathing evened and he calmed down as oxygen once more entered his lungs. Glenn and Sasha relaxed their grips as Airi continued to press on the bag every few seconds or so.

Hershel came around the corner and paused at the scene. He nodded to Glenn and Sasha, "Drink some of that tea. Both of you." Glenn weakly passed one of the tin cups over to Sasha and they both sipped on the tea between their coughing, "Some council meeting, huh?"

Airi snorted at the older man's dry humor and Sasha shrugged, "We're one member short."

"I think we should make some new rules before Daryl gets back," Herschel muttered as he watched the pair drink the elderberry tea. "I hereby declare we have spaghetti Tuesdays every Wednesday."

Glenn chuckled, "First we have to find some spaghetti," Airi pointed out as she continued her repeated motions.

Hershel grabbed the bag from her hand, compressing it as he passed it to Sasha, "You okay to take over?" She nodded and grabbed the medical tool from his hand. "Every five to six seconds, squeeze. You start feeling lightheaded, grab somebody else to take over. We'll take it in shifts." As Sasha started her compressions Hershel turned to Glenn, "Want to help me on my rounds?"

"Yeah, sure," He whispered as he clambered to his feet. He glanced down at Henry, "How long will that keep him alive?"

"Just as long as we're willing to do it," Airianna mumbled as Hershel gently helped her to her feet. "As long as it takes."

"Airi, stay near your son," The older man insisted. "Keep an eye on Sasha and Henry up here. Switch with her if she needs it."

"Okay," She agreed as she watched the men make their way down the stairs. Airi walked her way back to Eren's room after she double-checked on Sasha and closed the door behind her.

She watched as her son's chest slowly rise and fall as he slept. She sat down next to him on the bed and leaned against the wall as she rubbed her stomach and listened to him breathe. Eren woke up a little bit later and she gave him more tea along with a light vegetable broth. He quickly fell back asleep and she felt him to his rest to check on Sasha and Henry. Sasha was barely awake so she took over for her, sending the woman to rest.

Airianna watched Henery closely as she kept the compressions steady as if in a trance. She didn't know how long it had been but she continued until a hand fell on her shoulder. She glanced up to see Glenn standing over her. She switched with him as Hershel swung by and her smiled at Glenn before motioning for her to follow him. They walked to another cell on the second floor and Airi's mood worsened when she saw her fellow doctor sitting there shaking.

"Let's have a look at you," Hershel said as he lowered the medical bag he was carrying. Doctor S. glanced up and frowned when he saw both Hershel and Airianna there.

Hershel moved to take his pulse, but he pulled his hand away, "Doctor's make the worse patients," Airi muttered and Caleb smirked at her quip before he started to cough and hack up fluid from his lungs.

"Not everyone gets to live," He whispered. "End-stage is a point that no one comes back from or they...They can't. That's where I am." Hershel tried to place his hand on Saddiq once more but he swatted it away, "No, you need to focus on the ones that can make it. I made some more IVs. If you're not ready to lose one, you're gonna lose them all. And they don't just die"

"We can hold on," Hershel assured. The Arabic man leaned over and moved to grab something under his bed when he started to sway. "Caleb."

"After what happened in the other cell block," He muttered as he pulled out a box with two shotguns and a cluster of ammo. "When I came in here, I brought these."

Airi moved to help him up, "Get back in bed, we're not that bad off yet."

He hopped back onto the bed with the female doctor's help, "When we are, it will be too late. You don't understand. You both have a chance. This is it after this."

"I'm not giving up on anyone," Hershel hissed. "Not yet."

"Just make sure everyone's doors are shut," Caleb pleaded. Just make sure!"

"Caleb, you've got to let me look at you," The older man insisted. He lifted the light up to his friend and froze at the sight of the blood slowly making its way from his mouth and his eyes.

"Okay, Hershel," He rasped. "Have a look."

Airianna shook her head, "I got him, Hershel, you go." He hesitated, but rose from his kneeling position and walked from the cell.

"You have to leave," Doctor S. insisted. "You're not sick yet."

"But Eren is," She answered. Her fellow doctor tensed and gripped her arm tight.

"Take one of the IVs, give it to your boy, and lock yourself in with him," He whispered. "You're smart. You know...You know this will get worse before it gets bet-"

He jerked back as he started coughing and Airianna got up and scrambled away as blood poured from his mouth. He continued to choke on the fluids and she was helpless, only able to watch as her friend succumbed to the illness. Saddiq collapsed to the ground as he took his final breath. Airi glanced around and noticed Hershel had moved to the lower level to close the cell doors and Glenn was religiously watching Henry's breathing. She sniffled as she pulled out her blade and as silently as possible jammed it into the back of Caleb's head to prevent him from turning. She then scooped up the IVs and walked from the dead man's cell, trying to keep her pace normal as she paused at Sasha's cell. She attached one of the IVs to the sleeping woman before she reached Eren's room.

Her son was still fitfully sleeping and she tiptoed in before she closed the cell door behind her. She attached one of the two remaining bags to his small arm and rechecked his temperature, frowning when she noticed it had increased from 100 earlier to 102 now.

She heard a commotion from below her and she peeked her head out of the cell to see a man, Markus, collapsed on the ground next to Hershel as he chocked to death. Most of the patients on the lower level paled at the sight of their friend dying and she watched solemnly as Hershel addressed the crowd.

"Everyone, get back in your cells," He frowned when no one moved. "Go on, get back in your cells." Airi moved out of Eren's cell and down the stairs, grabbing the gurney as she reached Hershel

"Come on, let's get him on this," Hershel offered her a weak smile as the two doctors worked together to lift the full-grown man onto the gurney. After he was strapped down she watched Hershel push him away. She glanced at the rest of the sick group members, "Go lay down. Y'all need your rest." They reluctantly moved back into their cells and closed the doors behind them.

Airianna waddled after Hershel into the visiting room but paused when she saw Rick on the other end of the glass, "Heard from Carl you were in here, trying to help."

She nodded, "Eren's in here," She watched as her old friend froze. "He's doing good so well. Got him on an IV."

"Is it denial?" Rick asked. "For not seeing things how they were?"

"No," Airi responded. "You just caught a break. We all deserve one." She patted her stomach. "I caught a big one myself."

"You needed some time," Hershel continued. "You got some. You got lucky. We all did. I still think there's a plan. I still believe there's a reason."

Rick looked at the ground, "You think it's all a test?"

"Life is always a test, Rick," He answered.

Rick sighed as he looked at the doctors, "I need to talk to you both about Merle."

"Did something happen to him on the run?" Airi asked. "Is he alright?"

"No, he's alive," Rick reassured. "He's the one that killed Karen and David."

"What?"

He rubbed his face as he avoided eye contact with the pregnant woman, "He said he was trying to keep all of it from spreading, claimed they were both about to die anyway and he put them out of their misery."

"You send him away?" Hershel questioned.

"I did," Rick acknowledged. "I didn't want to, but I had to. Tyreese would have torn him apart if he was here when he returned."

"What about Daryl?" Airi asked. "Our son may be dying and you're going to tell him that his brother's gone? Again?"

"He had no remorse," Rick argued.

"Doesn't surprise me," She admitted. "But he's a good person. He just got his wires crossed. He was scared."

"It was my decision. And that's it," Rick stated before he walked away from the pane of glass. Airianna glared at him as he walked away, but tried to calm herself as she swept from the room and back up the stairs, leaving Hershel by himself with the horrible revelation.

She froze when she reached the top of the stairs and noticed Glenn had collapsed to the ground, "Son of a bitch." She rushed back to her son's room scrambling to find the extra intubation tubing. She found a single tube, but no bag and she groaned. She swept up what she had and rushed back to her friend's cell when she noticed Henry was not in his, "You gotta be kidding me."

She pulled out her knife and kept her guard up as she kneeled by Glenn, pulling out the intubation tube and blade to help open his airway in any way she could. While she was trying to get his airway open she heard growling behind her and Lizzie yelling.

"Hershel! Hershel!"

She swore under breath as she saw Henery's reanimated corpse lumbering towards the little girl, "Lizzie you gotta run, go hide!" She stood up to help her, but Glenn grasped tightly to her leg as he rasped for breath. "Damnit pizza boy, the one fucking time you decide to stop breathing."

She heard growling from below along with the sounds of gunshots and she struggled to get the tub into Glenn's throat under all the duress, "Come on, Henry. Come on, away from Glenn." She spared a glance up and gasped as Lizzie was leading the walker away as if it was a pet.

Airi steeled her nerves and successfully got the tube into Glenn's throat, but without the bag, it made her job even harder, especially since that little girl was coercing her bag away. She heard Lizzie screaming as she manually started breathing into Glenn's tube so his lungs could receive clear air, but sighed as Hershel ran by her and tossed the walker over the railing and into the safety net. She watched as Hershel pushed Lizzie into her son's cell and closed the door before he ran over to her and Glenn's sides.

"What are you doing?" Hershel asked as he watched her manually breathe for the Korean man.

"Bag's on Henry," She rushed out before she continued her motions. "Hold on, Glenn. Hold on."

"Daddy!"

"Don't shoot the bag! We need it for Glenn!"

She felt arms pull her away from Glenn and she relaxed as Hershel attached the bag to the tube and started to compress it, finally allowing him to breathe evenly. She leaned back and stumbled to her feet so she could check on Eren. She opened the door and fell to her son's bedside, sparing a small glance to Lizzie as she leaned against the wall.

"Mama?" Airianna beamed at her son when his tiny eyes cracked open.

"Hi, baby," She wiped her tears from her eyes and glanced outside seeing Bob running up the stairs with a backpack in his arms, skidding to a stop by Glenn's cell as he started to prepare the antibiotic mix for the ill. She smiled when she caught sight of Daryl skipping up the stairs to join Bob with more medication.

"Daryl, we need some over here!" He whipped around at her voice and sprinted to her side, freezing when he noticed Eren on the bed.

Eren smiled at his father, "Daddy, you back," He coughed lightly and Daryl rushed to his son's side.

"I'm here, little man, I'm right here," He watched as Airianna quickly mixed up the medications and injected them into his IV. She then turned and gave Lizzie her dose of medication before sending the girl back to her own cell. "How'd he get here?" Daryl whispered as he watched Airi give herself a dose of the meds as a precaution.

"He got sick somehow and Sophia brought him to me," She explained.

"Glad you were here, but I'm pissed at the same time," He grumbled as he gently grabbed his son's hand. "The baby could've got hurt."

"I know," She admitted. "But my other baby was sick and I could do something about it."

"I get it," Daryl muttered. "Just promise you'll be careful from now on."

"I promise."


	32. Chapter 32

Sophia smiled as she watched Airianna and Daryl walk out of A block with Eren in his father's arms. He looked a little worse for wear, but the fever he had was almost gone and he along with Lizzie were the two fastest recoveries of the illness. The girl had beamed when she saw Sophia standing outside the door, but frowned when she realized The blonde was not waiting for her. The teen was kinda sad that Lizzie felt so alone, even though she had her sister. But she had her own people, her own family to look after.

And when Daryl passed Eren into her arms, the smile on the boy's face was infectious.

"He looks so much better," She mumbled as he snuggled into her arms.

"Yeah, he's a fighter," Daryl said as he wrapped his arms around Airi. "Got a good bunch o' stubborn docs."

The pregnant woman scoffed, "It's my stubbornness that you appreciate."

"How's Glenn?" Sophia asked.

"He needs some more rest, but he'll be back on his feet by tomorrow," Airi replied.

She smiled, "Good."

The small family unit wandered back to C block and Airianna smiled as she passed through the doors into the common room. She hadn't stepped foot in the block since the start of the epidemic and was ecstatic to go back to her own room. She climbed the stairs with Sophia and helped the girl get Eren into his bed so he could sleep off the rest of the illness before she sent the girl on her way. She wandered into her room for the first time in a while and beamed at the sight of her and Daryl's bed, the corkboard over their dresser with photos from their small photo album along with polaroids of the group Sophia had taken a few months ago, and Eren's little deer he left on their bed a few days ago. She picked up the stuffed animal and brought it to her son, tucking it into the blanket with him.

"It a miracle he still got that thing," Daryl muttered from the doorway.

She nodded, "His favorite uncle gave it to him, of course, he loves it."

"Speakin' of Merle," She turned towards her husband with a sad look. "I'm guessin' Rick told ya too?"

"Yeah."

He wrapped his arms around her waist, "I miss him, but he was fuckin' stupid. Kinda pissed at Rick."

"He was trying to protect us," She whispered. "As misguided as it was."

"Yeah," He sighed and pulled away. "I gotta go check on Tyreese, tell him the truth. Michonne's heading out to take care of the bodies."

"Alright, I'll keep an eye on him," She promised.

She waved Daryl off and wandered back to her room. She changed out of her dirty clothes and tossed on a clean pair, moving to change her son's clothes as well. She then grabbed the dirty pile of clothes and carried it outside. Airi waved to Maggie as she dropped the pile to the concrete and pulled out a matchbox.

"Burning clothes?" The short-haired woman asked.

"Yeah, trying to destroy any germs from A block," The doctor explained as she lit the match against the heel of her shoe, tossing it onto the small pile.

"I'll go grab some of the other's clothes," Maggie suggested. "Just burn them in one go."

"Say hi to Glenn when you go," The woman nodded and made her way over to A block.

Airianna glanced around the courtyard as she stayed in front of the small fire. She watched Carl as he kept watch by the inner fence. Sasha was moving out of A block with Bob's help. Mika and Lizzie were sitting by Sophia near one of the tables by the grills. She noticed the girls had taken a shine to her adoptive daughter as of late, and she didn't know if it was a good thing or not. Maybe Sophia could be the best one to show Lizzie her thoughts on walkers were misguided. Or maybe-

A loud explosion shook the ground and Airianna stumbled to keep her balance. She whipped her head around and paled at the sight of multiple cars along with a tank sitting outside the gates of the prison. Beth and Maggie came running out of C and she and Carl followed them to the back of the inner tower. Daryl, Sasha, Bob, Tyreese, and Rick came running from the prison and Daryl shoved her and Beth behind him as he peeked his head around the corner of the tower.

"Rick, come on down here. We need to have a talk!"

A chill ran up Airi's spin as she heard the disgustingly suave voice of the Governor echo in the air and she tucked herself closer to her husband.

"It's not up to me!" Rick yelled back. "There's a council now. They run this place!"

"Is Hershel on the council?" The group paled as Maggie and Beth's father was dragged out of one of the cars past the fence. "What about Michonne?" The swordswoman joined Hershel kneeling on the ground, "She on the council, too?"

"I don't make decisions anymore," Rick called.

The Governor chuckled, "You're making the decisions today, Rick. Come down here. Let's have that talk."

Rick sighed and glanced between the opposing group and his friends. Daryl gave him a slight nod and he responded with one of his own. He stepped over to Carl and pulled him into a quick hug before he slipped past the inner gate and started to walk through the fields to where the other group was waiting at the fences. He stopped by the overturned bus to keep some semblance of cover as he sized up the other people.

Daryl carefully stepped over to Sasha and Tyreese, "We can't take them all on. We'll go through the admin building, through the woods like we planned. We ain't got the numbers no more. When's the last time someone checked the stash on the bus?"

"Day before we hit the Big Spot," Sasha whispered back. "We were running low on rations then. We're even lower now."

"We'll manage," He muttered as he rubbed his wife's arm. "Things go south, everyone heads for that bus. Let everybody know."

"What if everybody doesn't know when things go bad?" Tyreese asked. "How long do we wait?"

"As long as we can," Airi muttered as she kept her eyes on Rick. Daryl inched away from her to one of the wheeled clothing baskets, picking rifle and semi-automatic weapons from it as passing them out among the members in the courtyard.

"Let them go right now," Rick said as he stopped to address the Governor. "I'll stay down here. Talk as long as you want. But you let them go. You got a tank, you don't need hostages."

"I do," The other leader argued. "This is just to show you I'm serious. Not to blast a hole in our new home. You and your people, you have till sundown to get out of here or they die."

Airianna took a step back at the Governor's proclamation. She slowly took a step back towards the prison and Tyreese gave her a silent nod. She slipped in one of the side entrances and rushed to A block. Many of the prison's residents were still recovering and looked at her concerned as she ran into the block, "I need everybody that's able to walk right now to start making your way toward the bus."

"What's going on?" Mrs. Walters asked as she carefully rose from her bed.

"There's a group outside the prison, so we're just taking precautions," She softly explained. "So I'm just going to help people onto the bus just in case."

The healthier people got up from their beds and started to make their way out of the block. Airi moved up the stairs and stopped in front of Glenn's cell, "Glenn we gotta go."

He slowly got to his feet, "What's wrong?"

"The Governor's here," He scrambled to his feet at her words but paused as he started to wheeze and cough. "You're not well enough yet. I have to get you to the bus."

"I got it," He insisted. "Go get Eren and the other kids."

She paused for a moment, but listened to her friend, "Catch you on the flip side, pizza boy."

She tried to walk as calmly as possible to C block and pointed to the small group of children huddled in the corner, "Come on kids, we gotta head to the bus now."

"What's going on?" Mika asked.

"Just some bad people at the gate," She lightly explained. "I'm going to go grab Eren, but I need you and Lizzie to keep an eye on Judith, okay?"

The ten-year-old nodded her head and she moved towards Judith's crib with Lizzie. While the two girls strapped the baby in her carrier and rounded up the other kids, Airianna moved up the stairs to where Eren was still fast asleep in his bed. She moved to her room quickly and grabbed the two emergency backpacks from under the bed, pausing as she glanced at the corkboard of photos. She snagged the small polaroid of the whole group Sophia took when the pregnancy was announced, everyone was happy and smiling on that day. She tucked the photo into her pocket before she walked into her son's room and shook him awake.

"Mama, what's wrong?" He sleepily asked.

"Nothing, Eren," She assured. "I just need you to come with me alright?" He tiredly nodded and gripped his toy close.

She scooped her boy up and carried him down the stairs, pausing when she reached the bottom as she became winded from all the rushing about. She made it out of the block and noted the other kids were in the back of the courtyard talking amongst themselves while Sasha and Tyreese were leading the sick onto the bus. She waddled up to where her group was still in a standoff mode and placed her hand on Sophia's shoulder.

"Sophia, you should get to the bus with Lizzie and Mika," She whispered in the girl's ear.

"No, I'm staying with Carl," The girl argued. "I know what I'm doing."

"Take this then," She passed the girl her bow and quiver that were attached to one of the backpacks. "Keep them on no matter what."

She nodded her head and they both turned back to where Rick was still talking with the Governor, and she gulped when the man pulled out Michonne's sword and held it to Hershel's neck.

"We want what you got. Period. Time to leave, asshole," One of the men on the tank yelled out."

"Look, we've fought him before," Rick said as he pointed to the Governor. "And after, we took in his old friends. They've become leaders in what we have here. Now you put down your weapons, walk through those gates...You're one of us. We let go of all of it, and nobody dies. Everyone who's alive right now. Everyone who's made it this far. We've all done the worse kinds of things just to stay alive. But we can still come back. We're not too far gone. We get to come back. I know...We all can change."

The Governor slightly lowered the sword and Airianna heard his voice cut through the silence, "Liar!" He raised the weapon and swung it into Hershel's neck, blood spraying out of the fatal wound.

Airianna screamed along with Maggie and Beth as they started to fire on the other group. Sobs and gunshots ran through the air as everybody aimed at the group pushing down the fences with their cars. Airianna put down Eren and grabbed a rifle, starting to shoot at the men on the tank, but one asshole slammed the hatch shut and started to push the vehicle forward onto the fences, pushing them down the rest of the way.

Daryl shoved Airi away from the fence and she paused in her shooting, "Get on the damn bus, Now!"

She nodded as she cried and picked Eren back up as she ran past the other's firing, holding the sick boy close to her body when an explosion went off and she fell to the ground. She groaned in pain as her back throbbed and she rolled to her feet. She ducked to avoid the gunshots and she rushed back into C block when her path from the bus was cut off. She slammed the door shut behind her and carried her son over to Maggie and Glenn's cell, tucking him under the bed.

"Eren you stay here, you don't move unless you know who's here," Her son nodded and she slammed the barred door shut behind him. "I love you so much, I will be right back."

Eren waved at his mother from under the bed, "I love you, mama."

She blew a kiss to her son before she snuck herself back out of the block and grabbed another gun, taking out a group of people pining down Tyreese by the small planters. The man nodded at her and she pointed to his left and he looked over noticing Sophia, Mika, Lizzie, and Judith tucked behind a corner. He ran towards the girls as she provided cover for the man. She watched as they ran off towards the other side of the prison. A person suddenly rushed by her and pulled her down as bullets rained above her.

"Why aren't you on the bus?" Glenn yelled as he tried to shield her from the bullets.

"Eren and I got cut off," She yelled back. "He's in C under your bed."

The Korean man nodded, "Get out now. I will get him," He ran into the block and Airi inched her way down the steps to reach the bus before it left.

She sprinted her way towards the bus but gasped as it took off, waving her arms to try and get them to come back. She froze at the sound of walkers coming towards her and she ran in the general direction of the bus, trying to steady her breathing as she took shelter in the woods. Airianna paused when she was a safe distance away and watched for any sign of Glenn or Eren, but gasped in pain when she felt a sharp contraction from her stomach and keeled over. She quickly moved her hands into her pants and relaxed her she didn't see any blood on them, relieved she was not having a miscarriage.

She fought through the pain as she got to her feet again, but sighed as a walker stumbled out of the treeline towards her. She took out her knife to take it out when another grabbed onto her hair and yanked her back. She yelped as it pulled on her hair and she struggled to get out of its grip as the other approached her fast.

A sharp noise fell through the air and she felt herself jerk forward as the pressure of the walker pulling on her hair was released. She quickly slammed her knife into the skull of the one about to grab her arm and bent over as she took deep breaths.

"Finally got ya to cut ya damn hair Rapunzel."

She froze at her brother-in-law's voice and looked around to see him kneeling over a dead walker with half of her hair still in its grasp. She dumbly reached her hand back and felt where his knife had sliced her hair off near her neck, separating her from the walker's grip.

"Merle?" She whispered, thinking she was hallucinating.

He nodded and got to his feet, "What in the fuckin' hell happened? Rick kicks me out for a day and it all goes to shit."

"The Governor attacked the prison," He frowned at her mumbling.

"Where's Daryl and Eren?" Merle asked as he glanced around.

"Daryl was with Maggie by the gate last time I saw him," She said. "I hid Eren in C and Glenn said he'd go get him...But...But he hasn't come back out yet." She started to cry and Merle pulled her into his arms as he glanced at the prison. "I...I need to go back. Why'd I leave my baby alone in there? I have to go."

Merle tightened his grip on the pregnant woman as she tried to move back in the direction of the flaming building, "Hold up there, now. I'm sure Eren's fine. Asian boy must already be long gone and lookin' for the bus," He pointed in the direction the bus's mapped route was. "That's where we'll find the little ankle-biter, I promise."

"But what if they-"

"Don't want to hear none of that shit," Merle said as he pulled Airi along with him. "I got a car. We'll drive over and check the bus out. You in no condition to run your ass back in there."

She absently nodded as he dragged her back to where the car Rick had left him with was parked on the road. He gently helped her into the passenger seat and they took off down the road, hoping to find the bus before someone else came across it.


	33. Chapter 33

Pain. Lots and lots of pain.

That was all Glenn could feel as he cracked his eyes open. He groaned as his whole body throbbed, from the illness still running through him or from some other injury, he had no idea. He lifted his head and glanced at his surroundings, seeing the walkway he was laying on half-blown up and parts of the prison on fire. The last thing he recalled was grabbing Eren from the cell block and coming out here to find Maggie, then it all goes black.

"Maggie? Eren?"

He struggled to sit up as he shot his head around, trying to see if the three-year-old was somewhere near him. Glenn frowned when he saw no sign of the boy and took a few deep breaths, trying to hold in his growing panic. He shuffled back from the edge to avoid the swarm of walkers on the ground. He stumbled to his feet, picking up the gun on the ground and slipped back into the block. He rushed down the stairs to the lower floor of the block to see if Eren was still in his and Maggie's cell.

No sign of the boy at all.

He shuffled into his room and pulled the full riot gear from under his bed, strapping it onto his body. He grabbed a bright orange bag and started to fill it with supplies when he noticed the small photo he took of Maggie laying on their bedside table. Glenn grabbed it and tossed it in the bag along with Hershel's watch before he swung it onto his shoulder and shoved the helmet of the gear over his face. He picked up some of the melee weapons and knives laying around the block and attached them onto his bag. He held onto his gun as he swept the rest of the block for any useful tools or pieces of food.

Glenn glanced at a lone bottle of alcohol for a second before he pushed the thought from his mind, tossing it into his bag for insurance and he then moved to the entrance to the cellblock. He rushed out of the building guns blazing as the walkers surrounded him, trying and failing to get through his body armor to his skin. He groaned and shoved his way through the mass of walkers swarming him, dashing past the courtyard when he paused at the sight of a woman sitting silently in one of the single gated lookouts.

Next to her a sobbing toddler with a dirty stuffed animal in his hands.

"Eren!" The boy perked up and stumbled to the gate, clinging his tiny hands to the chain-linked fence. The woman continued to ignore his presence, but he ran up to the small gate and climbed into the separated space, closing the gate behind him before the walkers could get to them.

He grabbed the gun from the woman as Eren ran to him and clung to his leg, "Glenn! Glenn!" He leaned down and rubbed the crying child's back as he eyed the mystery woman.

He pulled the magazine from the gun and frowned, "It's full. Did you even fire a shot?" She shook her head. "Alright, let's go. Let's go." She stayed in the same position. "Are you just gonna stay here, huh? You're just gonna die?"

"I was a part of this," She muttered.

"I know," Glenn acknowledged.

She turned to the Korean man, "So what are you doing?"

"You saved Eren," He said as the boy lightly nodded his head. "And I need your help." Glenn pulled the bottle of alcohol from his bag and stuffed a rag into it before he passed the gun back to the woman, "We're gonna run out of bullets. Take this, and take this." He offered a hunting knife to her as well. She got to her feet and Glenn pushed Eren behind her legs, "Back up."

She took a few steps back as Glenn lit the rag on the bottle, opened the gate, and tossed it at a broken down car across the courtyard. He slammed the gate closed again as the car lit on fire due to the Molotov Cocktail landing on its roof. The walkers started shuffling towards the bright fire, and Glenn tossed his bag onto his shoulders before picking up Eren and holding him against his hip.

"Alright, I need you to stay ahead of me, okay?" She nodded. "I'll cover you, but I can't do it alone. We need to work together." He adjusted the helmet on his head and grabbed his own gun with his free hand, "You ready?"

She nodded her head once more and Glenn opened the gate once more. She jumped out first and kept her gun raised as they turned the corner and make their way past a few walkers. They quickly shot down the walkers in their way and made it to the outer fence near the main entrance. The woman shoved the metal sliding doors open and they sprinted away from the ruins of the prison. They ran through the woods towards the road the bus would have taken, and Glenn slowed their pace once they caught sight of the asphalt.

"Did you see if any of my people got out?" He asked as he adjusted Eren in his grip.

She shook her head, "All I saw was my sister in that field. She wasn't supposed to be there. She had a gun, but they just swarmed her," She wiped the tears from her eyes. "She wasn't supposed to be there. I did it for him. I trusted him. And then he just killed that old man."

Glenn paused at her words, "Hershel? Was his name Hershel?"

She turned around a lightly nodded her head, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Brian, that man, told us you were bad people. I know it's not true. I can see it's not, so what we did, what I did…I mean, I'm a piece of shit. Why would you want my help?"

He motioned to the boy he was holding onto, "You helped him, could've left him. But you didn't. And I don't want it, I need it. I have to find Maggie."

"Who's Maggie?" She asked.

"She's my wife," Glenn replied.

"You guys got separated?"

He nodded, "I went back to look for Eren, his mom hid him in the cell block," He glanced to the ground as he tried to hold back his tears. "I got off the bus to help and she didn't see me."

She sighed, "How do you know if she made it?"

"I don't know," He answered. "But Hershel, Maggie's father, was a great man. And he told me all I had to do was believe, and that's what I'm gonna do. None of the three of us should be alive right now. She got out, so you're gonna help me find her. Thing's aren't over."

He started to walk in the direction of the bus and she slowly followed, "I want to believe that. I want to."

A group of walkers stumbled up the side of the road and Glenn dropped his bag and Eren gently to the ground. He pulled out a knife as he approached the monsters, "You have to."

He started fighting with the walkers and the woman carefully joined in to help, telling the little boy to stay by the orange bag. Glenn killed two walkers but stumbled and lurched back when one almost sen him to the ground. He grabbed the butt of his gun and smashed its skull as the woman killed the final walker shuffling around. Glenn groaned and fell to the ground and the brunette woman rushed up to him, checking for injures.

"He sick," She looked up at the little shaggy hair boy who was toddling up towards them as he lightly coughed into his sleeve.

"Glenn, Glenn," She shook him, trying to get him to wake up. "Hey, Glenn."

"Monster!"

She flipped around to see a walker coming at the little boy and she grabbed it by the shoulders and pushed it away. She grabbed Glenn's gun and started to hit it in the skull repeatedly until its head was a pile of mush. She heard a car approaching, but she continued to ignore it as she decimated the walker's head.

She glared at the braked truck, "Hope you enjoyed the show, assholes."

She watched as the doors opened and three people climbed out: A redheaded male in casual military clothes, a Hispanic woman trailing behind him, and a man wearing cargo pants and sporting a mullet. Eren ran up to her and hid behind her legs at the sight of the three new people and she moved a hand behind her to keep the boy close.

"You got a damn mouth on you, you know that?" The buff military man commented. "What else you got?"

She furrowed her brow, "Look I just need some help with my friend Glenn," She pointed back over to the passed out man.

"Well, we'd have no issue helping him," The man offered. "If you help us."

"What are you talking about?"

"My name is Abraham," He introduced. "This is Rosita, and that man there is Dr. Eugene Porter. Now we are on a mission to get Eugene to Washington DC as fast as possible."

She absently nodded, "I'm Tara, and this here is Eren," She gestured down to the little boy. "And my friend on the ground is Glenn. We're looking for his wife, Maggie. They got separated."

Abraham nodded, "We can toss him in the back of our truck, wait for him to wake up," He suggested. "You'll have to stick to our route though."

"Umm, I don't know," Tara muttered.

"Or you can stay out here, in the open," He pointed out. "Exposed. Either way, we are on a timeline and need an answer now."

She bit her lip and glanced between Eren and Glenn before she nodded her head, "Alright."

Abraham walked over to Glenn and dragged the unconscious man up, tossing him into the bed of the truck. Tara lifted Eren into the bed and he waddled over to where his uncle laid on the metal, sitting next to him as he tucked his deer next to Glenn's head. She then hopped in herself and silently watched as the others got into the cab of the military trunk and drove off. She sat against the side and watched Eren as he sat next to Glenn, but frowned as the boy glanced at something they passed before he started to wail.

"Eren, what's wrong?" Tara asked as she tried to quiet the boy down.

"Bus!" He pointed back where they had just passed a blue bus on the road. "Mama on bus! Maggie on bus!"

She groaned and rubbed her face as she realized what the boy was trying to explain. She pulled out a marker and wrote the street name on her hand," Here, Eren see? I'm writing down where we turn and stuff so we can go back when Glenn wakes up. Okay?"

The toddler's tears slowed at her promise and he spent the next few hours or so silently glaring at the people in the cab of the truck as Tara wrote down each little turn they took onto her hand. She glanced up from her hand when she felt the truck come to a stop and she looked to the road and saw a few cars blocking the way. She frowned as three walkers came up and started to claw at the back of the vehicle, but she picked up on of the guns and aimed at them.

"Do not fire that weapon," She sighed as Abraham yelled at her. She watched bored as the man hopped from the driver's seat and laughed at the walkers lumbering towards him. "Oh, shit, look at what we got here." He pulled a crowbar out of the cab and swung it at the closest walker, stabbing the second one but pausing as he glanced at the last one. "Oh, honey, look at you. You're a damn mess."

Tara hopped from the bed of the truck as he stuck the walker to the side of the vehicle with his crowbar, "Can I borrow that a sec?" She sighed but passed the gun to him and he bashed the corpse's skull in. He tossed the bloodied gun back to Tara, "There's some rags in the back. What? What?"

"Never seen that before," She admitted.

He glanced at the smashed skull, "I've seen you do the same thing."

"You smiled," She elaborated. "You were smiling."

Abraham nodded, "Well, I'm the...luckiest guy in the world. Now, how about you help me with one of these cars? We got some miles to go."

Tara sighed but assisted in moving one of the smaller cars off the road and they started back on their path. She smiled at Eren as she got back in the bed of the truck, but he continued to sit next to Glenn and ignore her. She thought it was kinda cute how he was throwing a small tantrum, but she knew that the little boy must be enraged at what was happening. She doubted he knew what was fully going on, but he did at least know they were driving further from his family.

She glanced over to Glenn as she heard him shift and smiled as he slowly opened his eyes. He looked around disoriented, "Hey, don't move," He looked at Tara confused as she passed him a water canteen. "Here's some water."

"Where are we?" He weakly asked as he snapped his head around.

She sighed, "I don't know. We were fighting biters and you passed out right after we left the prison. I didn't know what to do. The back of the truck seemed safer than the side of the road."

Glenn sat up and lightly rubbed his hand on Eren's shoulder as he kept looking around, "Did we pass a bus? On the road did we pass a bus?"

"Yeah, Eren threw a fit when he saw it," She mumbled as she watched the boy wave his toy at the Korean man.

"What did you see?"

She looked away, "They were all dead."

Glenn gulped, "How long since we passed it?"

"Three hours," He looked around and started to bang on the glass dividing them from the cab of the truck.

"Hey, hey. Stop the truck," Abraham flipped him off and continued to press on the gas.

He banged harder on the glass and Tara joined in, "Hey, numbnuts, stop the truck!"

Glenn grabbed his gun and started to bash it against the glass, "Stop the truck!" He finally cracked the glass with the butt of the gun and the truck slammed to a halt.

The Korean man hopped out of the bed and helped Eren down when the truck fully stopped and he started to grab his bag a riot gear. Abraham got out and went after the man and child as they started to walk away.

"Where the hell are you going?" He demanded. "Where the hell's he going? I don't know what your lady friend's told you about the special nature of the mission we're on, but this shit is time-sensitive and we're already way behind schedule," He cut off Glenn's walking and pointed back towards the truck. "So I need you to turn your ass around and get back on the truck."

He shook his head, "We gotta go."

Abraham held up his hand, "It seems like neither one of you's been paying close enough attention to the hell on earth we've been living in. So let me tell you how to best avoid winding up just another dead-alive prick," He gestured over to Rosita and Eugene. "You find some strong, like-minded comrades and you stay stuck together like wet on water. We need people. The more, the better. We need each other, partner. Even with all that gear on your shoulder you and that kid won't last a night."

Glenn glared at the rough man, "I'll take my chances."

Abraham pushed Glenn back, "I'm gonna have to insist that you hold the hell up. Alright, believe it or not, the fate of the entire damn human race might depend on it."

Glenn shoved the man's hand off of his body, "What the hell are you talking about?" He looked at Tara. "Who is this guy?"

"I'm Sergeant Abraham Ford. And these are my companions Rosita Espinosa and Dr. Eugene Porter," He formally introduced. "We're on a mission to get Eugene to Washington DC. Eugene's a scientist and he knows exactly what caused this mess."

The Korean man sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "Alright, So what happened?"

"It's classified," Eugene muttered.

Abraham nodded, "He's been talking to the muckety-mucks in Washington on his satellite phone. The past couple weeks, nobody's been picking up on the other end. We saw how you handled those corpses back there. We could use your help."

Glenn felt a tug on his pants and looked down at Eren, "Sorry," He muttered as he faced the redhead. He adjusted the bag on his shoulder and continued to walk away from the truck, with Tara trailing behind him.

"I had to get us off that road," She explained as she caught up with Glenn and picked up Eren. "You were passed out, we were out of bullets. I know how to get back to that bus. I wrote down every turn. I will get you two back if I can, okay?"

Glenn nodded, "That's where'd she'd go to find me. And it's where Eren's parents would go too," He explained. "So that's where we're gonna go."

"It's a waste of time," Abraham called out. "Tara told us what went down. There is a zero chance you will ever see your wife again. Alive or dead. Mainly because, sorry to tell you, she's gone. No need for you to die, too." Glenn stopped and the other man smirked, "Now come on. Get back in the truck. Do something with your life."

Glenn dropped his pack and swung a punch at Abraham, clocking him clear across the face, "She's alive and I'm gonna find her," He claimed as he picked up his backpack and started walking again.

Abraham glared at him and jumped on his back, knocking him to the ground, "Abraham!" Rosita yelled as she ran to separate him. "Get off him! You don't want this Abraham!"

The two men tumbled around on the ground as they struggled to attack each other, and the women attempted to pull them apart while Eugene started to shuffle around near the bed of the truck. The scientist froze when he noticed walkers pouring out of the forest.

"Hey, hey!"

"Get off him!"

"Abraham!"

While they continued to fight Eugene pulled a gun from the cab and turned to face the walker, struggling to get the gun to work correctly as more walkers appeared. He got the gun going and started to shot at the small cluster of walkers, which alerted the rest of the group. Abraham and Rosita ran to help. Glenn and Tara ran after them and Tara placed Eren in the truck while Glenn tossed her a gun and they moved to shoot down the threats.

Once they were all dead Abraham glanced at the truck, seeing bullet holes in the fuel tank, "Son of a dick," He crawled under the truck to see if he could repair the damage. "We were running a convoy in one of these. Coming up on a dune, there's this camel, looks like it's about to puke. Probably because shitbird's packed about four pounds of C-4 up its ass." Glenn rolled his eyes at the war story, "We were within twenty feet of that blast that sent that animal's hump half a klick into the desert. And we drove home." He turned his attention to Eugene, "So you tell me how in the holy hell did you possibly kill this truck?"

Eugene glanced away from the redhead as he sat up, "A fully amped-up state and an ignorance of rapid-firing weapons."

Glenn walked towards the two men when Rosited picked up a small photo off the ground, "Is this yours?"

He turned to see the photo of Maggie in her hands and he lightly grabbed it back from her, "Sorry about your ride," He passed the gun in his hand back to Abraham. "Hope you guys make it to Washington."

He scooped the small child from the vehicle and walked back towards his supplies while Eren waved at the others behind them. Tara passed her gun over to Rosita and rushed after the two males, "Wait for me."

Rosita sighed and started to make her way after the trio, "What the hell else are we gonna do?"

"Go to Washington!" Abraham yelled back. "Fix the whole damn world." But she continued to walk after them. The man turned around to see Eugene grabbing bags out of the back of the truck.

"That way's clear. Who knows what's North," He muttered as he tossed the supplies to the ground. "We'll find another vehicle. We'll go with them until we do. Trust me, I'm smarter than you."

He then scooped up the bags and followed after Glenn, Abraham scoffed but followed after his charge and the other people. The small group walked in silence as Tara led them back through each turn they took since they passed the bus. The sergeant glanced over at Tara as they continued their trek.

"He's a persistent son of a bitch," He stated as he watched the Asian man carrying the small child. "I get why you're following him. You're loyal. You're a good person. I like it. But what we're doing...I don't know how else to say it...saving the world is just more important." He sighed, "I mean, even if he does find his wife, so what? How long do you think they'll live happily ever after if we don't get Eugene up to Washington?"

"You think that because I'm following Glenn, that makes me a good person?" She asked. "I'm not."

The man chuckled, "You're good."

"You don't know anything about me," She pointed out. "Just like I don't know anything about why you're going to Washington. I get why Eugene's going. He's the only one that knows how to end this. And Rosita, she loves you. She'd follow you anywhere. But why the hell you agreed to drive him halfway across the country..."

"Is that hard to believe, I want to save the world?" He replied.

She shrugged, "Because you're a good person? You don't have to tell me why. Just don't lie to me."

Tara walked a bit faster to catch up to Glenn, offering her arms out to take Eren. The man smiled and passed the three-year-old to the brunette. The group continued at a casual pace until Glenn caught sight of the blue bus and he started to sprint towards it. Tara kept her distance as the man rapidly checked all of the dead walker's faces for his wife's and sighed in relief when he shook his head.

"She's not here," He called to the others.

Rosita walked around the bloody remains from the bus, "Where would she head to?"

Glenn crossed his arms as he thought, "There were these storage lockers we stayed in once. Eren's dad, Daryl, always talked about them being a good place to meet up if we ever got separated."

"And how do we get to these lockers?" Abraham sarcastically asked.

He pointed South, "There are some train tracks we can follow to them, they're in a town off the tracks a few miles down."

Tara smiled and adjusted Eren, "Then we go South I guess."

They followed the Korean man to the tracks and followed them easily enough, but Glenn stopped his movement when he noticed a map taped to a wall labeled 'Terminus' with large words written in walker blood above it reading, 'GLENN GO TO TERMINUS- MAGGIE, SASHA, BOB.'

"Well," Tara turned to look at the redhead. "Looks like we're a bit closer to happily ever after, huh?"


	34. Chapter 34

Sophia groaned as she walked along the train tracks holding Judith in her arms. She had luckily escaped the prison with Tyreese, Mika, and Carl's sweet sister. Unluckily Lizzie had made it out with them. Not that she wanted the girl to get stuck at the prison as it was destroyed, but something about her rubbed her the wrong way ever since the blonde had laid eyes on her. The thing she had with the walkers didn't help it all, or the girl's slight obsession with her.

She slipped up and called Sophia 'sister' a few nights ago. Made her damn skin crawl.

Mika was nice though, she reminded the teen of herself when she was younger before she got lost in the woods with Airi. And Tyreese was a rock the group of girls desperately needed. As mature as Sophia was she was only thirteen and having a level headed adult around helped a lot with the sisters. However, his arm injury was slowly becoming infected.

He claimed it was fine, but Airianna had taught her enough that the redness and swelling were bad signs. She glanced around at the trees near the train tracks and motioned to Mika to hold Judith. The ten-year-old happily took the baby and watched as Sophia stepped off the tracks and over to a tall tree.

"What are doing Sophia?" She asked.

Sophia took out her knife and scraped something off of the tree, "Airi taught me tree sap is a good antiseptic if you are in a bind," She brought the sap filled knife over to Tyreese and motioned for him to giver her his arm. He sighed but allowed the blonde girl to unwrap his wound, "It hurts, right?"

"Oh yeah, it hurts," He watched as she rubbed the sap onto the slowly clotting cut.

"This will fight the infection. May even bring down your fever," Sophia muttered as she rewrapped the wound with a different bandanna.

Lizzie giggled as she watched her work on the cut, "You're so smart, Sophia."

Sophia gave the girl a tight smile and watched as she wandered away on the tracks, "What you think?" She turned back to the adult. "Three days out? Four days?"

"We haven't seen any of those maps at the crossings," She said as she rested next to him. "I'm not really sure."

"Lizzie's tough," Tyreese pointed out.

The teen sighed, "When it comes to people I guess."

"What do you mean?"

"She's weird with the walkers," Sophia mumbled. "She thinks they're just different and back at the prison she would name them like pets."

Tyreese glanced at Mika sitting with Judith, "Is Mika the same way?"

"No, she sweet," The girl sighed. "I'm worried she's too sweet. That someone will try to take advantage of her."

"Well, we will be here to protect her," The man promised.

Sophia gifted Tyreese with a weak smile before she called out to the sisters and the group started back down the tracks. The girl opened her arms and Mika passed Judith back to her so she could join her sister balancing on the sides of the train tracks.

"Did Tom Sawyer have a happy ending?" Mika blurted out as she walked in front of Sophia. "We never got to finish it."

"Well...Tom and Huck, they stop Injun Joe and his partner and wind up getting all his gold," Sophia summed up.

The ten-year-old beamed, "So they wind up rich?"

"Yep and the Widow Douglas adopts Huck," She added.

"Like Airianna adopted you?" Lizzie cut in.

She shifted Judith in her arms, "Yeah."

The little girl giggled, "I think I would be Huck Finn."

"I think you're more like Tom Sawyer," Her sister chimed in.

"Yeah, you're right," Mika conceded. "You're way more like Huck Finn. You're not even grossed out by dead rabbits."

The teen furrowed her brows when she caught Lizzie sending her sister a dirty look at her comment, "Forgot you used to read them," She glanced back to Tyreese.

She shrugged her shoulders but remained silent as they walked a few more miles. Most of it wasn't reading if she really thought about it, and she was still ashamed of how Airianna and Carl caught her. Carl said he forgave her and she believed him, but she knew how disappointed Airi was. She hoped they were both alright, that they were alive, and hopefully heading to Terminus as well.

"You smell that?"

She paused as she whiffed the scent of smoke, "Yeah."

"There's a fire somewhere," Tyreese looked around at the trees on either side of the tracks.

"Must be a big one," The girl noted. "It's not anywhere near here." She slowed her movements when she heard the sound of rushing water to the right side of the tracks, "We should stop here. We need to look for water."

"I can do it," He offered.

She shook her head at his sweaty form, "No, you need rest. Watch Lizzie and Judith, I'll bring Mika with me."

The blonde waited until Tyreese and Lizzie were set up on the side of the tracks before she motioned for Mika to follow after her. The smaller girl happily walked with her as they moved through the woods to reach the creek or river Sophia had heard earlier.

"Why did you not ask Lizzie to come?" Mika wondered. "She can carry more than me."

"Well, if I'm being honest...Your sister gives me the creeps," She whispered.

"Me too sometimes," The girl admitted. "I'm not like my sister. I'm not messed up."

"I know," Sophia assured her. "You're too sweet. But being sweet can be dangerous for you, and I know you know that. You're smart."

"I can kill walkers," She replied but hesitated a moment. "I've tried to kill them, it's scary."

The older girl nodded and ran her hand along Mika's back as they continued through the trees. She kept her eyes peeled for the water and huffed as they had still hadn't reached it by now. Mika tugged on her shirt as she pointed ahead of them.

"Look!" The blonde turned her gaze in the direction she pointed and smiled at the sight of a large clearing with a fenced-in house. "My mom used to say that everything works out the way it's supposed to."

The teen smiled at her and grabbed her hand tight as they made their way back to Tyreese. She told the man about the building they found and he jumped up at the prospect of a place to rest and recuperate for a little bit. The small group retraced the tracks through the woods until they came across the clearing and the house again. Lizzie and Mika beamed at the picturesque scene and walked up to a tree with shelled nuts laying on the ground by it.

"What are these?" Lizzie asked as she picked up one of the small nuts.

"Pecans," Tyreese guessed as he eyed the shell.

"Oh, I love pecans," Mika exclaimed.

"You, know, maybe we could catch out breath here for a little while," Sophia figured as they crawled through a weak part in the fence.

Lizzie eyed the older girl, "We're still going to Terminus right?"

"We'll just stay a day or two," The adult reassured the girls. "So I can get better and you girls can relax a bit."

"There's a well," Sophia said as she looked around. "Fences aren't big, but they're something. And I saw a few deer earlier through the trees. I could catch one to eat."

Lizzie beamed at the thought as she eyed the bow sitting against Sophia's back, "With your bow right? Could I learn how to use it?"

Sophia bit her lip as she adjusted the weapon Airi had given her back when they were on the farm, "Takes too long to teach, lots of discipline and practice. We just don't have the time right now."

She took a deep breath as the girl sighed, but accepted her reasoning, "We can eat these too right?" Mika chimed in as she picked up the pecans.

Tyreese smirked, "You can eat your fill and then some."

"Look," The group turned around to see a large tower of smoke billowing over the trees.

Sophia turned to face Tyreese, "Bet that's what we were smelling."

"Wonder how it started," Mika muttered.

The man shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe lighting. Maybe a campfire."

"Come on. Let's check out the house," He nodded and followed the thirteen-year-old onward away from the fence. They walked up to the porch of the house, slipping past a small freshly made grave.

Lizzie and Mika sat on an iron bench outside the house with Judith as they watched Tyreese and Sophia knock on the door to check for walkers. The older girl sighed as she held the infant in her arms and watched the pair move into the house to clear it. She wished they thought she was mature enough to join them instead of leaving her out here with her sister and the baby. She knew she was strong, especially after the prison. She had been the one to save Sophia from one of those attackers, though she didn't mean to hit him in the head with her bullet. But the girl still treated her weirdly, even though they were practically the same age.

Mika eyed the weird look on her sister's face, "They're gonna be okay."

"It's not that," She responded.

"Is it that there was a baby?" She tried.

"No...They're gonna find one in there and they're-"

"Stop it!" Mika snapped. "They aren't people."

Lizzie shook her head, "But you're wrong. All of you."

"But there aren't people Lizzie. They're just dead-" Mika's words were cut off as a walker appeared and well from the porch.

The sisters scrambled off the bench away from the rasping thing until Lizzie stopped as she gazed in wonder at the decaying creature. Judith started to wail in her arms the closer the creature got, but she simply raised the girl slightly closer to the walker but froze when a gunshot rang out, and the corpse drop to the ground. She shot her head around to see Mika hold her gun as she kept her eyes on the walker's body and Sophia sprinting from the house with Tyreese on her tail.

"Are you okay?" Sophia asked as she helped lift Lizzie to her feet. "Come on, come on." The girl started to hyperventilate and the blonde swiped Carl's sister from her arms. She passed the baby to Tyreese and he carried her gently into the house to help her quiet down, "Mika, lower the gun." The younger girl shakily moved her arms to the side of her body.

Sophia smiled at the ten-year-old but frowned as Lizzie started to cry and walked away from them to stand by a small patch of flowers. Mika sighed but moved to stand by her sister, "Lizzie, I'm sorry I yelled at you. Just look at the flowers like you're supposed to," She pointed to the plants and the girls counted together until Lizzie's breathing returned to normal.

Lizzie smiled at her sister and followed her into the house after Tyreese. Sophia sighed and rubbed her forehead as she climbed the steps into the house. She was happy the home was mostly clean and she wandered into the kitchen to check the food supply in the house. Many of the cabinets were empty, but a few cans of vegetables were left in one of the upper cabinets. She sorted the cans before she went back outside to collect more of the pecans for the girls to eat. After she amassed enough of the nuts in the basket she brought she carried it back into the house and placed it on the countertop.

Sophia tensed when Lizzie wandered into the room but motioned for the girl to help her shell the nuts. The girl happily bounded over and worked with Sophia to use the two nutcrackers they found in one of the kitchen drawers to get each nut out of their separate shells. Tyreese came into the kitchen to light some candles for the girls when the sun started to set. The teen thanked him before he moved back into the living room with Mika to start the fireplace.

"You still upset?" Sophia asked the silent girl.

Lizzie sighed, "Sometimes I don't understand, but I'm trying to," Sophia subtly rolled her eyes at the lie pouring from her mouth. She didn't know why Lizzie always tried to kiss up to her, especially since she was already aware of how peculiar the girl acted.

"Look what I found!" Mika came running in with a doll with red yarn hair. "I'm gonna name her Griselda Gunderson."

Sophia gave the small girl a sweet smile and got up from the table to follow her back into the living room. Lizzie sighed, but followed after the pair, sitting on the rug with her sister. The blonde teen glanced at the crib Tyreese placed in the room and her eyes softened as she looked upon Judith's sleeping form.

"Well, we got plenty of water," She turned the adult's way as he came into the room. "Now all we got to do is bag one of them deer and we're all set."

She smirked, "Then we'll get one."

"Yeah," He muttered as he sat down in one of the armchairs by the fire.

"What's wrong?" Mika asked as she caught his confused face.

"I'm not used to this," He admitted. "We're in a living room in a house."

The ten-year-old giggled, "Yeah, so relax."

The four comfortably enjoyed each other's company for a while longer before Sophia shuffled Mika and Lizzie off to bed. She waved Tyreese goodnight before she too went to rest her head. When she woke up she rolled out of bed at the sound of Judith wailing and walked into the living room to take care of her. She picked the girl up as she moved into the kitchen to prepare a warm bottle of formula for her, gently placing a kettle on the stove to boil some of the well water as she made the bottle. She lifted the bottle to the baby's mouth but paused as she looked outside the window and saw Lizzie running around in the yard with a walker, laughing as if the monster was an old school friend of hers.

Sophia dropped the bottle on the counter and rushed Judith back to her crib before she ran outside the door with her knife drawn. Lizzie turned around to face Sophia and missed the walker now making its way closer to her back.

"Lizzie, get away from it!"

"No, it's alright," The younger girl calmly called as the walker inched closer to her.

Sophia shot the girl a heated glare, "Right now, Lizzie!"

"No, no, no. It's fine."

"Lizzie! Lizzie!" The teenager screeched as she shoved the girl away from the corpse and slammed her knife into its eye, stopping the dangerous being.

"No!" Lizzie wailed as she watched Sophia jam her blade into the walker's skull. "She was playing with me! She wanted a friend."

Sophia scoffed, "She wanted to kill you!"

"I was gonna lead her away," The deranged girl argued.

"You could have died!" She snapped.

"It's the same thing!" Lizzie screamed. "You killed her! You killed her! It's the same thing!"

"Lizzie," The older girl said. "Lizzie!"

"What if I killed you?! What if I killed you?!"

"Lizzie!" The girl started to cry as she stumbled away from Sophia.

"You don't understand. You don't understand. You don't understand. You don't understand!"

"Lizzie," Sophia tried once more.

The girl turned back to her and she tensed at the crazed look in her eye, a look Sophia had not seen since Shane was alive, "You didn't have to. You didn't have to. She didn't want to hurt anybody. She didn't want to hurt anybody! She was my friend and you killed her! You killed her!"

"Go inside!" The blonde suddenly shouted out over the girl's ranting. "Go inside right now or so help me God!"

"You killed her!" You-" Lizzie's head snapped to the side as Sophia slapped her across the face. She was stunned silent as she looked at the teenager in shock.

Sophia huffed as she glared at the girl, "Go the fuck inside. I am done playing around. It was fine when you were just naming them at the prison, but this is the real world. She," The blonde pointed to the dead body. "Was about to rip into your fucking neck when your back was turned! And maybe I should have let her. Now go the hell inside."

Lizzie clenched her fists, "You just don't understand. I have to make you understand," She whispered as she kneeled by the walker and cried.

Tyreese came out onto the porch, holding on tightly to Judith. Sophia sighed as she turned to the man, "Take Lizzie back inside, drag her ass if you must. I'm grabbing Mika and going hunting."

The man dumbly nodded as he watched the teenager storm into the house, pick up her gear, motion to the ten-year-old, and storm back outside completely sidestepping the wailing preteen. Mika rushed after Sophia and frowned as she passed her crying sister, but continued into the forest after the older girl. She tried to keep up with her to the best of her abilities as the teenager ripped through the brush of the forest and Mika sigh in relief when she slowed her movements. Sophia gave her an apologetic look before she unstrapped her bow from her back and turned her eyes to the ground to properly begin her hunt.

"The fire's still burning," Sophia shot her gaze up to the cloud of blackish smoke Mika pointed out.

"It could have gone out," She muttered.

Mika shook her head, "Nope, the smoke's black. If it was white, the fire wouldn't be burning anymore," She blushed as the teenager looked at her impressed. "I miss science class. Except for when we had to do stuff like cut-up planaria worms."

Sophia snorted, "Bet your sister would've loved that," She mumbled under her breath. She glanced down at the girl, "But we have to do grosser stuff than that now, Mika."

"I don't gotta."

"One day you will," She responded. "When you're a bit older. Lizzie's bigger than you, and in some ways stronger. But you are smarter than her for certain. You understand how the world works, how walkers are."

Mika frowned, "But I can't do much, unlike Lizzie."

"Your sister has a few screws loose in her brain if you -" Sophia paused her words when she saw a flash of movement in her peripherals. She looked in the distance to see a female deer grazing a few dozen or so yards ahead of them. She silently plucked an arrow from her quiver and aimed it at the animal, firing the bolt directly into its chest. "Hadn't noticed."

"That was amazing!" The girl exclaimed as she followed Sophia over to the deer's body, but her enthusiasm fell as she saw the animal up close. "Did you have to kill her?"

"Sadly yes," Sophia muttered as she pulled her arrow out of the chest wound. "But we will use every part of her if we can, so her death has meaning for our lives." The younger blonde nodded and watched as Sophia carefully pulled the deer's body over her shoulders, "Come on we gotta head back."

The two walked back to the house slower with the extra weight and when they reached the fence Sophia asked Mika to head back to the house so she could take care of the deer. The girl agreed and made her way to the withered building as Sophia sat by the well so she could separate the meat from the deer's body while keeping a good view of the house and the fence. She started to peel the hide as Daryl taught her when she heard footsteps and observed as Tyreese walked up with two empty buckets of water.

"Wow, you caught one," He said as he watched the teenager pull the hide further back from the muscle of the animal. "Kinda gross, but impressive."

"Cleaning a catch isn't pretty," She agreed. "But Daryl taught me how to do it right."

"Sure he did," He muttered as he began to pump water into the containers. "You know, maybe we don't need to go to Terminus. I've been thinking, we could stay here. We can live here."

"Rest of the group could be at Terminus already," Sophia grunted as she continued her work.

"Maybe, maybe not," Tyreese answered. "But I know Lizzie and Mika. I know Judith. And I know you. I trust you. And I don't know if I can get that anywhere else. We could stay. We could live here."

She sighed as she stopped her cutting, "Look, I get it you're not ready to take that chance. But if you want to stay with the girls, you can. I have to go to Terminus, and Judith is coming with me."

"But why would you risk it?" He wondered.

"Cause Airianna, Daryl, and Eren could be there," She whispered. "Carl, Rick, Merle, Maggie, Beth, Glenn...Sasha." She observed as he tensed at his sister's name. "Just wouldn't sit right with me to give up on them. They wouldn't give up on us."

Sophia shrugged as she went back to cleaning the meat, "I guess I have to think about it."

She nodded, "Yeah, I guess you do Tyreese."

A scream ripped through the air and the two abandoned their work to chase after the noise. They reached the farthest part of the fence to see the girls stuck by the wiring as a group of burnt walkers made their way towards them. Mika screamed as a walker caught her foot and pulled her back, and Sophia sprinted faster to reach her in time. She ripped her gun from its holster and shot the corpse on top of the girl, allowing Lizzie to pull her to safety. She and Tyreese then fired at the rest of the monsters heading towards the house and the girls joined in to take out the threat. When the last walker dropped and the gunshots faded the teenager let her breath out.

"Good job," She smirked at Lizzie. "Did the right damn thing." The girl beamed but watched as Mika clung to Sophia and the girl wrapped her arms around her in return.

Tyreese wrapped his arm around Lizzie's shoulder and the four walked back to the house. Sophia passed Mika over to the man and rushed back to collect the meat she had been cutting to keep it from attracting more walkers. She groaned when she came close to the well and noticed one of the decaying bodies ripping into the half-cut animal. She grabbed her knife and jammed it into the back of the thing's head before she dragged it and the deer's body away from the well to keep the water uncontaminated. When she made it back to the house she gave Tyreese an annoyed look and he caught onto the issue she faced.

The blonde then spent the rest of the day inside with the girls and Tyreese, help keep a low profile on the place after all the gunshots that went off.

"I had to help stop them," Sophia eyed Lizzie as she wandered up to her in the living room.

The teenager shrugged as she whittled on the small stick she was holding, "Do you get what they are now?"

"I know," She assured her. "I know what I have to do now. I know"

"Didn't answer my question," Lizzie rolled her eyes as Sophia continued to push her knife gently along the length of the stick, rolling off small curls of wood. "Live now is hard and there's no room for loose cannons and screws. Sometimes have to do things we don't like, be mean to get things done."

"I don't want to be mean," Mika called as she wandered into the room.

Lizzie turned to face her sister, "You have to be sometimes, but just sometimes."

"Well, we have a lot of pecans here," Sophia spoke up to change the subject. "You getting sick of them yet?"

"Nope," Both girls replied at the same time.

She smiled at them and gestured for them to come with her to the kitchen, "We can whip up some candied pecans as a good snack," The girls helped her as she laid out the nuts, got them slightly damp, rolled them in sugar from the pantry they found, and finally slipped them into the small oven. "Made these with my grandmother when I was really little. They were my mom's favorite."

"I didn't know Airi liked pecans too," Mika said.

"Not, Airi," Sophia corrected the small girl. "My other mom. Her name was Carol."

"Oh," She frowned a little. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright. In the past now," She muttered as she pulled a tray of the warm sweet nuts out of the oven.

"They smell good," Lizzie said as she leaned in to look at them.

Sophia placed the hot tray on the counter and tossed one of the nuts to her, "Taste better. You each get one, then we gotta get to bed."

The girls groaned and reluctantly agreed to her terms, snacking on the dessert before she shuffled off to their shared bedroom. Sophia made her way to the small single room she claimed as her own and let Tyreese's thoughts from earlier pass through her mind. He was correct on the thought that none of their group could even be at Terminus, and the whole journey could be for naught. And even though she could go talk to him as he took watch to think more on this issue better she couldn't bring herself to leave the bed. The blonde just had to hope her family would be there, at least some small part of it. Tyreese was her friend, but he was just that: a friend. Judith was her only family with her, and she was so thankful she was able to get out of the whole attack unharmed.

She hoped Carl and Airi did too.

The next day Tyreese had insisted on joining her when she moved to go hunting again, claiming more walkers could appear out of nowhere. She wanted the man to stay with the girls, but he insisted after yesterday they knew how to defend themselves. Sophia watched Mika and Lizzie sitting with Judith before she agreed, but insisted to the girls they stay inside the house until they returned. Now she was making her way back to the house along with Tyreese after being unable to catch sight of any deer at all.

Tyreese figured the walkers yesterday must have scared them off.

Sophia thought they ate them, like the one she had shot.

"The girls like it here," He noted as they made their way back. "We could build it up, plant more food. Maybe find a car for an escape route, just in case."

She sighed at his perseverance on the topic, "I suppose if we stay longer I could check the train tracks each day for signs of our group."

Tyreese beamed at her idea, "You could. We could all regroup here instead. Might be safer."

"Maybe," She conceded.

"Doesn't mean we can't go," He reassured the teenager. "Just noticed when we were getting closer and closer, I'm just not ready to be around other people yet."

"Can't let fear keep you from your life," She responded. "But it's completely understandable to put it on pause for a quick second, everyone deserves a break."

"Thanks."

The blonde waved off his sentiment as they reached the edge of the woods, "Who knows, maybe we'll find another deer soon."

Tyreese chuckled, "Probably not even deer season yet."

"Maybe not," She giggled. "You know, one time I was out hunting with Daryl and Merle and Merle just had the worst jokes you could think of for the whole trip. I mean, they were downright awful."

"How bad?"

She smirked, "Alright so one went along the lines of 'What's the difference between beer nuts and deer nuts?'"

The adult shrugged, "What is it?"

"Well, beer nuts are around a dollar twenty, but deer nuts are just under a buck," She beamed as the tall man burst into laughter at the shitty joke.

"Now, that is good stupid," He admitted. "But in no way is it stupid good."

"I know!" Sophia laughed. "And Daryl was gong off on him and-"

She looked up from the ground to the distance form of Lizzie standing by a tree waiting for them. She took a few steps closer and gasped when she noticed the girl's hands were bloody and Mika was lying on the ground behind her. She sped up her walking but Tyreese laid a hand on her shoulder and pointed to the ground next to Lizzie, where she now noticed Judith lying on a blanket next to the completely deranged girl.

"Don't worry, She'll come back," Lizzie explained as she smiled at the pair. "I didn't hurt her brain."

Sophia and Tyreese gazed at the girl in shock, and the teenager fought every instinct she had to jump on the other blonde. Instead, she offered her a weak smile and tried to gently reach for the knife in her grip, but leaned back as Lizzie pulled her gun on both her and the man next to her.

"No, no, no! We have to wait!" She insisted as she waved the weapon around. "I need to show you. Then you'll see. You'll finally get it. We have to wait."

"Lizzie," She looked away from Sophia and over to Tyreese. "Put the gun down."

"I just want us to wait!"

"We can wait," Sophia bit out as she repressed the urge to throttle Lizzie. "We can wait. You just have to give me the gun. We can wait, I swear." Lizzie eyed the older girl, but slowly passed the gun into her waiting hand, "You and Tyreese should take Judith back. It's not safe for her."

Sophia watched as an eerie smile slipped onto Lizzie's face, "But Judith can change, too. I was just about to help her as well when-"

Tyreese jumped as Sophia coldly shot the crazed girl in the head, watching as her small form crumpled to the ground. He stayed frozen as she stormed over to Mika's body and sniffled as she pushed her knife into her head to prevent her from turning.

"Take Judith back to the house. I'll take care of this."

"Sophia, are you sure?" Tyreese gently asked.

She kept her gaze to the ground as she wiped the tears from her eyes, "I am certain. Please, Tyreese," He silently picked up the small infant and walked solemnly towards the house as he heard the teenager scream and wail behind him.

When Tyreese stepped back out of the house again after he had been able to get Judith to rest in her crib he watched as Sophia was hurriedly digging a grave next to a body with a tarp over it.

"Found a box of mice under Lizzie's bed," He said. "Figure she was the one feeding the walkers at the prison."

"She the one that attacked Karen and David too?" He flinched at the mention of his dead girlfriend.

He slowly moved down the steps and closer to the teenager as she slammed her shovel deeper into the dirt, "Daryl told me Merle did that, tried to keep the infection from spreading. Don't blame him for trying to protect us, even if it was not the best way."

"Merle always picks the wrong way to fucking help," She absently pointed out.

"Do you need help digging another one?" She tensed and finally locked eyes with him, and he internally saddened as he recognized the painful look in her eyes, the same look he had right after Karen passed.

"We bury the ones we love, and burn the rest."

Tyreese turned to where she weakly pointed and noticed a small fire going where another body was burning in it. He sadly watched the flames grow around Lizzie's body before he moved to Sophia's side and pulled the shovel from her grip. She glared up at him, but he refused to pass the tool back.

"I can dig faster," He observed. "You pack up and get Judith so we can leave."

The blonde furrowed her brows, "I...I thought you wanted to stay?"

"No, we need our family, our people," He quietly admitted. "And this place isn't good for us."

"No, no it isn't," She agreed as she sluggishly made her way back into the house.

Tyreese finished the digging she started and softly laid Mika's body down to rest before he covered her with the exposed dirt. He patted the mound of dirt down as he tossed the last pile of earth onto the grave before he stepped away to grab to small sticks. He wrapped them together with long pieces of grass and stuck the makeshift cross into the dirt in front of the fresh grave. He felt Sophia's presence next to him and noticed in surprise how she had already packed up all of their supplies into Judith's baby bag along with two large backpacks and Judith was nestled in her arms.

"She was such a sweet girl."

He sighed and plucked the infant from her arms, "I know, Sophia. I know," She took a small step forward and placed the doll Mika found against the cross before she rejoined Tyreese by his side. "It's not your fault."

"Feels like it," She whimpered.

He grabbed onto one of the bags and tossed it over his shoulder and waited for her to do the same before they both started walking back towards the woods, "Will feel like that for a long time."

The duo moved in silence after that, even after they reached the train tracks. Tyreese glanced over to the teenager occasionally but tried to give the grieving girl her space in some way. They stopped in their trek as the sun started to lower and made a small camp on the side of the tracks. Tyreese passed Judith to the girl and noticed the tower of smoke still billowing in the twilight sky.

"Fire's still burning."

Sophia eyed the smoke and shook her head, "Smoke's white, the fire's out...Mika taught me that."

An awkward mood settled over the two survivors as they huddled together to preserve heat around the baby. The winter night was lacking snow, but the biting wind still howled through the air. The distance sound of footsteps echoed over the wind just slightly, but enough for the mourning teenager to snap out of her funk. She nudged Tyreese in the side and he looked around the area when he caught the sound passing through his ears as well. The footsteps drew closer along with the small brightness of a flashlight that awoke Judith from her sleeping.

The pair tensed as the infant wailed out and the person holding the flashlight stopped their movement. Sophia lowered to the ground as she heard the person come closer to their hiding spot, but paused as a familiar voice rang through the air.

"I'd know Officer Friendly's wailin' offspring goddamn anywhere, come on out ya pussys."

The blonde scrambled to her feet and barreled towards Merle's large form, nearly knocking the man over as she wrapped her arms around him. The man huffed as the air was knocked from him, but tightened his left arm around the girl's body as he watched Tyreese step from the treeline with Judith in his arms.

"Merle? How'd you find us?" The baby wielding man wondered as he eyed their fellow group member.

"Wasn't lookin' for y'all specific," He shrugged as he let Sophia go. "Airi and I figured some of ya would be dumb enough to follow this damn easy trail. So I've been making my way."

"Where is she?" Sophia hurriedly asked as she glanced around Merle's body, hoping to catch a glimpse of the pregnant woman.

Merle sneered as he looked away, "Gone."

"Gone? Is...Is she dead?"

"Did I say dead you, dumb girl?" She shook her head. "Just gone, but we'll find her soon enough."


	35. Chapter 35

Merle sighed as he looked out the window of the house he and Airianna cleared less than a day ago. He insisted on keeping watch as she slept since she had been stubborn and refused to sleep the past few days. Now he might be shit with kids, but even he knew a pregnant woman needed to sleep. Especially now that shit had majorly hit the fan.

They found the bus, but it was full of walkers. Airi guessed one of the ill people died and turned on the bus. They looked through the windows but didn't recognize any of the people as their close group members, which was somewhat of a blessing. Afterward, they traveled in the car until it died and then continued on foot. They came across a sign on the railroads mentioning a community that was taking people in, but they both agreed it sounded far too good to be true. However, they did acknowledge that many of their group would be hopeful enough to drag themselves there so they followed the tracks and stayed in small houses like this one when they needed to rest.

He turned his head when he heard Airi roll around in the bed she was sleeping in, but she quickly settled again and he turned his gaze back to the window. He hoped to reach the outskirts of the community soon so they could round up their group members and get the hell out of dodge.

"Merle?"

"Ya supposed to be asleep, Airi," He grumbled. "You need a damn lullaby?"

"I thought I heard something," She mumbled as she slipped out of the bed nestled against the wall of the room and shuffled to sit next to Merle by the window.

"Nah," He denied. "It's a quiet night."

"Do you really think the rest of the group will be a Terminus?" She asked.

"Maybe," He muttered as he pulled out a small pack of cigarettes. "I know Daryl's not stupid enough, but our dear Asian boy would take Eren there for sure."

"Glenn would think a community would be better for Eren, safer," She agreed. "And he'd probably think Maggie and I would be there."

Merle huffed as he lit one of the cigarettes, "Always wonder how he landed her, she way out of his league."

"He's kind," Airi guessed. "You know I hate smoking."

"Yeah, but I ain't smokin' in your house so it don't matter," He stated.

She sighed, "Can't argue with that logic I suppose."

"Ain't no point to it," He agreed.

They sat by the window in peaceful silence, basking in the moonlight. Merle sighed and put his smoke out before he looked out at the street again. He narrowed his eyes as he glanced at the sidewalk, seeing a group of people sneaking their way down the street towards the house they were holed up in.

"We got trouble," He whispered. "Guess havin' a bun in the oven gives you super hearing."

Airianna stood to her feet and grabbed her bag, "They some of ours?"

"No," He shook his head as he watched an older man in a jean jacket make his way closer to the house. "And I don't think they lookin' to make friends."

He grabbed his bag and cursed under his breath as he heard the front door break open. He cracked open the window and motioned for Airi to crawl through it. The pregnant woman slipped out and Merle followed after her, closing the window behind them. They shuffled along the roof of the porch as they listened to the group of men clamber into the house. Merle paused when they reached the end of the wrap-around porch and glanced under it to see if any of the men had made it to the side of the house. He tossed his bag and Airi's to the ground past the porch and grabbed onto the drainpipe attached to one of the supporting posts, lowering himself to the porch. He motioned his sister-in-law and she moved her legs over the roof, slowly lowering herself down into his waiting arms. Merle snagged her legs and pulled her down carefully as she clung to the drainpipe to offer extra support.

She relaxed slightly as her feet touched solid ground and she lowered herself as much as possible as they slipped off the porch. Merle handed her bag over as he tossed his onto his back and they quietly sneaked away from the house and down the road of the small neighborhood. They both stayed low to the ground for a few more streets before they started to walk at a normal pace again.

"So what now?" Airi whispered.

"Get as far away from this place as we fuckin' can," Merle said as he kept his eye out for walkers.

"The railroad's back that way," She pointed out.

"So are those assholes," Merle argued back. "We'll get back to the tracks, but I gotta look out for you and the tiny one or Daryl's gonna rip my ball sack off."

She chuckled under her breath, "I know you worry too."

He glanced at the road outside of the neighborhood as he shrugged his shoulders, "I suppose. You've grown on me. Only took near twenty years to get it done."

"I'll take that as a compliment," She replied as they took the road North.

They continued onward for a few more miles before they passed a smoldering building off of the woods. The pair moved to inspect it and they caught sight of a walker with one of Daryl's bolts through its head. Merle yanked it from the things head and glanced around the remains of the building for any sign of his brother. Airianna knelt to the ground and picked up a small green book she recognized and opened it to Beth's handwriting. She flashed the journal at Merle.

"Looks like he and Beth got out together," Merle came over and flipped through the book pages as he slightly smiled.

"She's a good kid," He muttered as he passed the book back to Airi. She slipped it into her bag and tossed it back onto her shoulder.

They followed a small trail of two footsteps until it became muddled with a mess of prints they could only guess were walkers. Airianna sighed at the loss of the trail but was happy Daryl wasn't alone out here. She dragged Merle back to the road and they continued onwards until a small gas station came into view. Merle rushed up and tapped on the glass, waiting for any walkers to slam against the door. When the next few minutes passed in silence, the pair moved into the store. Most of the shelves were picked clean, but Airianna smiled as she grabbed a bag of pork rinds along with a few forgotten boxes of stale cereal.

She waved her findings in front of her face, "Breakfast of champions."

He lifted up a case of warm beer, "Think I win, sugar."

"Only 'cause you get it all for yourself," She snorted.

He shrugged his shoulders and tossed her a bottle of water. She nodded in thanks and tossed over the pork rinds for him. Airi ripped open the bag of cereal and dug into it, moaning at the taste of processed sugar.

"Here," Merle said with his mouth full of food. "Found this too."

He slid over a can of mixed vegetables and she cracked it open with her knife. After eating half of the can she slid it back over to Merle and he inhaled the rest of them. Merle eyed his sister-in-law as she continued to munch on the stale cereal.

"Can't stay here long," He sighed. "Too out in the open. And the sun's gonna be up soon."

The redhead sighed and ran her hands through her now shoulder-length hair, "Did you have to cut my hair so short?"

"I'm sorry, a walker was on the other side of it," He chuckled. "Go to a damn salon if ya want it done up special. Bout time too, ya hair was draggin' on your ass."

"Ah, give me a break," She groaned. "I like my hair long, what's wrong with that?"

Merle shook his head, "Stupid with dead freaks crawlin' around, just sayin'."

The doctor sighed but nodded her head at his reasoning. They spent a few more minutes resting in the gas station before they tossed any extra food in their backpacks and left the store behind. The Dixon pair walked Northbound as they tried to find a way to get back to the tracks. Merle kept his gaze fixed for any signs of his brother while Airi watched for any traces of the men they almost ran into earlier that night. She hoped the men would stay at the house long enough for them to get far enough away, at least long enough for their own tracks to disappear.

They walked in silence for a moment when they caught the sound of walkers coming from behind them. The pair turned and readied themselves for the small cluster of monsters, Merle instantly attacking the one closest to them. Airi pulled her knife from its sheath and flung it at one lumbering towards her, smirking as it sunk into its target. She pulled it from its head and jabbed it into another one's eye. She straightened up as Merle shoved the final one to the ground and stomped its skull in. The two paused for a moment but tensed when they heard the telltale sounds of a car approaching.

Merle pulled her behind the treeline as they watched a small black four-door sedan with a white cross on the back window pull up to the pile of dead walkers and stopped. Airianna furrowed her brows as two men dressed in full cop uniforms stepped out of the driver and passenger seats of the car. They pulled flashlights out of their belts and they shined them towards the trees.

"Anybody out there?" One of the men called out. "Rotter's are fresh, real fresh. We don't mean any harm. My name's officer Gorman. My partner's officer Lamson." Merle gave Airi a doubtful look, "We just want to help."

"Well, if you want to help y'all won't mind lowerin' them guns," Merle called out to the men. The pair waited as they heard murmuring past the trees before they heard metal tapping against the ground.

"Alright," A new voice cut through the air. "We've lowered our weapons, would you mind stepping out now?"

Merle straightened up and pushed Airi behind him as he led them out of the trees. He kept his gun raised on the two men but noted the two guns sitting on the ground. One of the 'officers' was tall and Hispanic while the other was short and rather overweight. Both were clean-shaven and their uniforms were near-pristine, which only made Airianna more nervous. Even while living at the prison clothes did not look that perfect.

"Any more of you hiding out there?" The Hispanic man, Lamson?, jokingly asked.

"No," Merle bluntly replied.

The other officer took a step forward, but Merle lifted his gun higher and he paused, "Could we have your names?"

"I'm Merle," He grunted. "Behind me's Airianna."

"Is she injured?" Gorman asked with a fake form of concern Airianna heard plenty of times from narcissistic cops and doctors alike.

"She is just fine, thank you," Airi cut in as she peeked her head around Merle.

Lamson jabbed his partner in the side, "Forgive him, he's just following protocol. Would you mind coming out?"

She sighed but stepped out to face the two men fully. Both of them paused when they noticed her belly, "Are you pregnant, ma'am?"

"Nah she's just fat," Merle snapped sarcastically. "Now what do y'all want?"

The two men bristled at his tone and the overweight officer, Gorman, sneered at him, "We saw the bitters and figured people needed help. That's what we're here to do."

"Really?" Merle drawled. "Cuz I'm guessin' y'all would've jumped us for supplies if my sister-in-law here wasn't carryin' her extra 'weight'."

The two men stared each other down, and the other officer tried to step between Merle and his partner, while Airianna glanced at their car and frowned when she noticed a slight movement from the back of the vehicle.

"I'm sorry, officers," She gently said, surprising her husband's brother. "But my feet are beyond swollen. Would you mind if I sit on the curb while we chat?"

"Of course," Lamson politely agreed as he pushed Gorman back so the pregnant woman could reach the side of the road safely. Merle eyed the men and followed Airi as she walked near the side of the car, sitting down on the road as she peeked in on the tinted windows.

Her eyes widened when she caught sight of Beth's familiar blonde curls and small form splayed out in the back seat of the car. She instantly brushed off her surprise, but she locked eyes with the concerning officer and observed how he was now giving her the same look he gave Merle.

He didn't trust her at all.

"So why are you both out here alone? It's quite dark outside," Gorman suspiciously noted.

"A group of men showed up at the house we were in," Airi casually stated. "They didn't seem like the type of men that are kind to women so Merle helped me get out of there." She watched as Lamson's eyes shifted over to Gorman when she mentioned the men's preferences subtly and filed that gross fact away for later.

"Well if you both are alright, we'll be on our way," Gorman rudely said. "Got a lot of ground to cover."

"Oh of course," She agreed as she got to her feet with the help of Merle. "But first could you do something for me?"

Lamson nodded, "Sure, what?" The two officers tensed as she pulled her gun on them and Merle lifted his own back up.

"Would you kindly give back the sweet blonde girl in the back of your car?"

Gorman sneered at her while Merle froze and looked in the back himself. He growled when he caught sight of Beth as well, "Why the hell y'all got Beth? What y'all do to my baby brother?!"

Lamson raised his hands as Gorman shuffled back to the other side of the car, "We found her alone on the side of the road," He explained. "She's hurt and needs medical attention. We're taking her to a doctor who can help her."

"Well good thing Airi here is a top-notch doc," Merle spat out as he kept his eyes on the two men.

Gorman ran out from the other side of the car with a gun in his hand and aimed it at the pair, both of them jumping out of the way as he fired. Merle started shooting at him as Lamson sprinted for his gun on the ground. Gorman jumped back behind the car and Lamson started his own round of bullets at the man. Airianna landed a shot in the Hispanic man's leg and he wailed in pain. But she jerked back as Gorman grabbed her from behind and shoved an odd smelling cloth on her face. She fought back as she tried to hold her breath, but she couldn't hold out and as soon as the chemicals filled her airway she could feel her consciousness fade. The last thing she heard as the officer dragged her into the car was gunshots and Merle screaming her name.

The beeping of a vitals machine roused her from her forced sleep and she shot up, furrowing her brows as she looked at the light blue medical scrubs she was wearing along with the hospital bed she was in. She looked across the room and noticed Beth asleep in a similar bed, a small line of stitches donning her face. The pregnant woman stumbled from the bed she was in, ripping off the sticky vital pads on her chest and pulling the IV out of her arm. She ran her hand over Beth's face when she reached her side and looked her over for other injuries. Airi gently lifted the girl's right wrist and observed the cast it was wrapped it. The doctor honestly had no idea how all of the medical supplies lasted so long.

Beth's eyes fluttered open and she froze at the sight of Airianna standing over her, "Airianna?"

She sniffled as she smiled at the blonde, "Hi, Beth."

Beth sat up in her bed and pulled her close, "Thank god you're here! I told Daryl you were alive. I knew I was right," She frowned as she moved away and looked around the room they were in. "Where are we?"

"Some kind of hospital," Airi muttered as she looked out the window to the destroyed city around the building they were in. "I'm guessing we're in Atlanta, maybe Piedmont or Grady Memorial?"

"How'd we get here?" She asked. "The last thing I remember was I was with Daryl and we were fighting walkers. I got hit on the head, and then I'm here."

"Merle and I stumbled across these guys with you in the back of the car," The redhead gently explained. "We started shooting at them and they got a hold of me and dragged me off."

Before the girl could respond again they heard the door handle turn and Beth jumped from the bed to stand in front of the pregnant woman. She pulled the IV from her arm, raising it as some sort of weapon as two people walked in, an extremely put together female in another officer uniform and a man in dark blue scrubs and a doctor's coat.

The woman glared at Beth, "Everything's okay, okay?" The man lightly said as he eyed the two women.

"Put it down," The woman ordered as she placed her hand on a gun on her belt. "Drop it right now."

Beth let the needle clatter to the floor as she continued to keep herself between her pregnant friend and the strangers. Airianna watched as both strangers relaxed, "I'm Dr. Steven Edwards, this is officer Dawn Lerner. How are you both feeling?"

"Where are we?" Beth asked, ignoring the doctor's question.

"Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta," The man replied.

"How did we get here?" Beth continued, testing the pair.

"My officers found you on the side of the road surrounded by rotters," The officer, Dawn, spoke up in a condescending tone. "Your friend here was with an extremely aggressive man who attacked her and my men. So they saved her from him and brought her here."

"Your wrist was fractured," The doctor cut in before Airianna or Beth could respond. "And you sustained a superficial head wound." He glanced at the pregnant woman, "No obvious injures on your behalf, but with your condition, it's a good thing they found you. Can you both remember your names?"

Airi bristled at his tone, "My name is Airianna and this is Beth," She stated.

Beth glanced at the female cop, "The man I was with, is he here too?"

"You were alone," She insisted. "If we hadn't saved you, you'd be one of them right now. So you owe us."

"I'm sorry, but we don't owe you anything," Airi said as she stepped in front of Beth.

"I beg to differ," Officer Dawn argued. "We saved you both, used resources on you. Time and energy, sounds like you owe us."

"Neither of us needed your help," The redhead snapped. "You took Beth away from my husband and left him god knows where. And you kidnapped me from my brother-in-law while we were trying to get Beth back from your creepy officers."

The doctor quirked a brow at her words and side-eyed Dawn, "So you're saying you assisted that man in assaulting my officers?"

Airi scoffed, "We didn't 'assault' them. Your man, Gorman, started shooting us the moment I asked about Beth in the back of their car. So you should be asking him why he thought it was a good idea to shoot at a pregnant woman who wanted her friend back."

Dawn sighed and rubbed her forehead, "I will speak with Gorman, but for the moment you will both assist Dr. Edwards on his rounds while I attempt to figure this mess out," She gave the two women a look. "Is that agreeable to you?"

Beth weakly nodded, "Yes."

Airianna sighed, but nodded as well, "For now, but when Beth is well enough we _are_ leaving."

Dawn absently nodded in agreement and swept from the room. Dr. Edwards remained in his spot as she left before he motioned for the two women to follow him. Beth stuck close to Airi's side as they walked through the halls of the hospital. Airianna had only been there a handful of times during her practical labs in med school, but she recognized the layout of the floor they were on. Smart of them to hole up in the ICU of the building since it offered the most medical supplies available. But as she passed multiple people dressed in the same light blue scrubs as well as a few more people dressed in uniform she realized something was very wrong here. The three wandered into another hospital room where an extremely injured man was attached to life support machines.

"Couple of them out there were on a run about a week ago," Edwards muttered as he walked over to the patient, lifting his eyelids to check for dilation and brain response. "They found two boxes of Bisquick and a Merle Haggard tape at a truck stop, and then this gentleman under a bridge. Cardiac arrest and extreme dehydration. I tried to do what I could." He sighed and moved to turn off the life support machines, effectively ending the man's life.

"What, that's it?' Beth asked as she watched the man began to flatline.

Edwards nodded, "If patients don't show any sign of improvement...Well, Dawn calls it." He casually picked up an icepick from a tray and pushed it through the man's head and into his brain, stopping him from turning.

Beth glanced away while Airianna helped move the body onto a gurney in the room when Edwards gestured to her and the three of them started to wheel the body out and down the hall. She kept her eyes up as they passed a female officer as she spoke with Gorman, trying not to sneer at the snake of a man.

"Hold up," Edwards stopped by the cops and whispered to the female one while Airianna placed herself between Gorman and Beth as he eyed the girl like a piece of meat. Beth noticed another person in scrubs at the end of the hall mopping the floor, but when they caught on to her watching them they quickly walked away from her gaze. Beth took a few steps forward to another hospital door and Airi watched suspiciously as another scrubbed woman slammed the door shut in the blonde's face.

Dawn walked up to the women as she led Edwards and the body onward, "Come on, the body's getting cold."

The pair followed the doctor and cop as they approached a set of double doors and Dawn pulled a key from her pocket to unlock them. She motioned to the doors before she went on her way elsewhere. Beth and Airi held the doors open while Edwards wheeled the body into the empty hallway with an elevator at the end of it.

"How many people live here?" Airi wondered as she and Beth followed the man.

"Just enough to keep us going," He vaguely said. "Some of us started here, some of us came as patients. Everyone has a job."

Beth glanced back as they continued to move towards the elevator, "Can't we bury him?"

"No, we only go out when we need to," The doctor explained. "It may not be the most dignified disposal system, but we work with what we have. We've managed to secure and guard the stairwells, but the windows are blown out on the ground floor. Rotters find their way into the basement when they hear a noise. And if the bodies are warm enough, they clean up some of the mess."

Airi cringed as he tiled the gurney and sent the body flying down the shaft all the way to the ground, where it made an unappealing squelch as it landed on a pile of more human remains.

"Use everything you can use," Beth whispered as she looked down the shaft.

Edwards shrugged, "Plus it's the fastest way down," He looked to the women. "How about you two go to the cafeteria and grab me some lunch, you can pick stuff up for yourselves as well. It's right down the hall."

The pregnant woman herded Beth away from the elevator and followed Edwards's suggestion, shuffling down the hall until they came across a small waiting room repurposed as a cafeteria. Beth walked up and picked one of the already made trays of food, adding some extra food for the baby while Airi fixed a meal for the standoffish doctor. The redhead frowned as Gorman appeared again out of nowhere and walked up towards Beth, giving the girl a sickly smile.

"You're looking better and better," Beth eyed the man oddly. "We had a lead on some guns, so me and my partner were pretty far out. That's when we saw you, wriggling in the road." He chuckled at his own joke, but the women remained silent. "You don't remember me, huh?"

Beth shook her head as she picked up her tray, "I was fighting a walker. And then everything went black."

"Yeah, one was eyeing your thighs when we showed up," Airi glared at the man as he continued. "But I got there first. Jacked that rotter up. I'm Gorman." Beth nodded but kept quiet once she noticed Airi's heated gaze on the man. "When someone does you a favor, it's a courtesy to show some appreciation. Unless you want me to write down everything you're taking." Beth looked up at the man, "Everything costs something, Right?"

Airi motioned the girl away and Beth picked up her tray before rushing off to find the doctor's office. The cop scoffed as he started to write down every piece she and Beth had grabbed, "The food's for the doctor," She explained. "He asked us to grab it."

Gorman chuckled, "Then he should have grabbed it himself," He took a step closer to the pregnant woman and stared down at her. "Or better yet, your little friend could learn some manners."

"Saving a life is not a 'favor,' it's common decency," She hissed. "And my seventeen-year-old friend has more manners than you ever will."

She turned on her heel, but the officer gripped her arm, keeping her from leaving, "Well maybe I will have to teach her some then. Might have to include you on the lesson too."

Airi wrenched her arm out of his grasp and flipped the slimy asshole off as she stormed away. As she walked through the hall looking for Edwards's office a boy carrying a load of laundry came out of one of the offices and Airianna jumped to avoid crashing into him and the clean sheets.

"Sorry, didn't see you there," He apologized as she pushed the cart of fabric to the side of the hall. "I'm Noah."

"Airianna," She murmured back.

He looked from her anxious face to the tray of food, "Dr. Steven's office is down on the right," He motioned to an open door further down the hallway. "Hard to get around in this place sometimes."

She smiled as she started to walk the way he pointed, "Thanks, but it's not my first rodeo in a large confusing building."

She slipped into the room and noted the high level of clutter, an out of place painting, and Steven sitting at his desk with Beth in a chair on the other side. The blonde gestured to the seat next to her and Airi plopped down in it as she placed the tray of food onto the desk.

"I used to feel like I was drowning in research," The doctor complained. "Now the oceans are dry and I'm suffocating in boredom."

"You're lucky," Beth claimed. "If you feel safe enough to feel bored, you're lucky."

He pointed to the record player, "It's Junoir Kimbrough, do you like it?" Both of the females absently nodded.

"I can't remember the last time I heard a record," Beth quietly admitted.

He shrugged, "It's one of the few perks I get for being the only doctor here," Beth eyed Airi as he replied, but she just barely shook her head.

"Well that, and whatever this is," The female doctor said as she pointed to the two trays of food.

He nodded, "Guinea pig," He looked at Beth. "Where's your food."

"The more I take, the more I owe, right?" He tilted his head in agreement as he started to consume his plate of food. "So Airi and I can just share, lot of food anyway." She smiled as the mother passed her one of the bowls of vegetables and they started to nibble on their shared food.

"Have you ever tried guinea pig?" He asked when he noticed the meat missing from the other plate.

"No."

"Not at all."

He cut two small pieces and passed them over to the women, "I didn't think so. You wouldn't call it a perk. Dawn doesn't have to know, come on," They both accepted the pieces and slipped them into their mouths chewing at the overcooked and tough meat.

"It's overcooked," Airi responded as he eyed them expectantly.

He chuckled, "Well, it's good enough for Peru," He pointed to the painting Beth was looking at. "It's a Caravaggio. I found it on the street outside the High. Like trash."

"It's beautiful," The teenager whispered.

The redhead shrugged her shoulders, "La Negazione di Pietro," Beth swung her head around in mild surprise when she heard the foreign words spill from her lips. "The denial of Saint Peter." She repeated in English.

"It doesn't have a place anymore," Dr. Steven commented. "Art isn't about survival. It's about transcendence. Being more than animals. Rising above."

Beth quirked her brow, "We can't do that anymore?"

"I don't know," He sadly admitted.

"I sing. I still sing."

The doctor smiled, but tensed when Dawn came running into the room, "We got a new one!"

Steven rushed out the door and Beth helped Airi from her seat before they followed after the man as they watched an injured man get wheeled into a room, "Found his wallet. His name is Gavin Trevitt."

A female cop nodded at her partner as Edwards started to take the man's heart rate and blood pressure, "Fell from a first-floor apartment trying to get away from some rotters."

Airi kept an eye on Dawn as one of the officers whispered something in her ear, "He's lost a lot of blood and his vitals are dropping. I don't think he's gonna make it," The doctor assessed.

"I got this," Dawn pressed. "You said you wanted to save people, so save him."

"I don't even know the extent of his injuries," He argued. "Look, this one's a loser. You said you didn't want me wasting resources."

"Well, today I want you to try," She insisted.

Edwards sighed as he turned to the two women in the doorway, "Okay, plug the EKG and the ultrasound into that battery pack," The pair jumped into action and Beth hooked up the machines while airianna started to place vital markers on the man's chest. Dawn watched them closely as the doctor swiped the ultrasound over the man's chest and frowned at the damage. "Tension pneumothorax. Punctured lung. Beth, I need a large hallow needle in that cabinet."

Dawn reached the cabinet before the blonde and tossed the necessary equipment to the man. He sighed but jammed the tool into the right side of the man's chest. Blood spurted from the open end of the needle before the heart rate on the monitor slowed and he started to breathe normally with the pressure in his lung doing down.

"Is he gonna make it?" The redhead frowned at the actual concern Dawn had for the stranger.

"He fell from a building, Dawn," The male doctor snapped.

"Is he going to make it?"

Edwards flipped up the man's shirt and pointed to the large amount of bruising on his abdomen, "You see these bruises? He has internal bleeding, but I need a CAT scan to know how bad. And even if I could determine that, I don't have the tools to save him. I told you, this was a waste of resources."

Dawn glared at the man before she turned and violently slapped Beth across the face. Beth stumbled back, Airi wrapped her arms around the girl and glanced down at her now split lip and broken stitches.

"Steve, try to grasp the stakes here," Dawn hissed before she stormed from the room.

The man quickly led the women out of the room and back into their own, sitting Beth on her bed so he could re-stitch her cheek, "Is she always like that?" The pregnant woman asked as she sat next to her friend.

"Only on her bad days," He mumbled. "It's unfortunate for us that's the only kind she has. Noah left you a new shirt."

Beth frowned, "What's wrong with this one?"

He pointed to the small bloodstain, "She likes things neat."

Airianna snorted, "Man, she must love your office."

"We all have ways of making her pay," He joked. "I'll wait for you both outside."

Beth sighed and picked up the clean shirt, but paused when something fell out of the pocket and onto the bed. She picked up the object and beamed at the sight of a small green lollipop, "Well, it seems like not everybody here's an ass."

The mother smiled as she gently rubbed her stomach, "I guess not."


	36. Chapter 36

Sunlight shined into Daryl's eyes as he sat against the busted blue car Michonne and Carl were sleeping in as he and Rick huddled next to each other, but he barely paid the blinding light any mind as he thought about what happened the previous night. Hell, the Claimer's bodies were still scattered around the road near them, but he didn't give a shit about the assholes anyway. Not after they tried to kill him and his own. His eye throbbed as he tried to blink and he hoped the socket was not fractured from the beating he took or Airi would give him a fucking earful.

Daryl tensed, God did he miss his wife.

He grabbed a bottle of water and a rag, writing it as he passed the towel to Rick, "You should save it to drink," The other father mumbled.

"You can't see yourself," Daryl noted. "He can…" Rick sighed and accepted the rag, wiping the dried blood from his face and neck. "I didn't know what they were."

"How'd you wind up with them?" He asked.

"I was with Beth. We got out together," The hunter huffed. "I was with her for a while."

"Is she dead?"

He looked at Rick, "She's just gone," He turned his eyes back to the ground. "After that, that's when they found me. I mean, I knew they were bad, but they had a code. It was simple. Stupid, but it was somethin'. It was enough."

"And you were alone," Rick reminded him.

"Said they were lookin' for some guy. Last night they said they spotted him. I was hangin' back. I was gonna leave," He explained. "But I stayed. That's when I saw it was you three. Right when you saw me. I...I didn't know what they could do."

"It's not on you, Daryl," Rick reassured his friend as the man tried to look away. "Hey, it's not on you. You being back with us here, now, that's everything." The leader sat up a bit more as he locked eyes with the hunter again, "You're my brother."

Daryl sighed at the other man's comforting words, "Hey, what you did last night...Anybody would have done that. I would in a heartbeat if it was Eren."

Rick scoffed, "No, not that. Not anybody."

"Something happened," He argued. "But that ain't you."

"Daryl, you saw what I did to Tyreese," Rick pointed out. "It ain't all of it, but that's me. That's why I'm here now. That's why Carl is. I want to keep him safe. That's all that matters."

Daryl nodded as he got to his feet and offered his hand to Rick, "I'll say it again, I'd do the exact damn thing. Especially for my own."

Rick gripped his hand and got to his feet in silent agreement with the beaten man. He tapped on the window of the car to alert Michonne and Carl while Daryl rounded up all of the assholes' weapons and supplies, tossing them into a few extra bags on the ground. The hunter tried to avoid looking directly at Carl and Michonne as they climbed from the car and picked up the bags of supplies near him. He kept some distance from Rick and Michonne as they walked down the tracks, continuing the journey the trio were on before they were attacked.

"You okay?" He heard Rick ask to Michonne.

"Yeah," She replied.

"I'm okay," The leader falsely promised.

"I know."

He quirked his brows, "How?"

"Cause I'm okay, too," Rick nodded at her simple explanation.

He slowed the small group to a stop when he noticed a fallen sign and brushed off the dirt to reveal the map leading to Terminus they had seen the past few days along the tracks.

"We're getting close," Daryl muttered as he eyed the sign. "Be there before sundown."

"Now we head through the woods," Rick decided. "We don't know who they are."

Daryl shrugged as he moved towards the trees, "Alright."

They followed after the hunter as he slipped through the forest, observing multiple trails of human tracks that have been through this area before. He held his hand up and they slowed as a chain-linked fence came into view. Rick dropped one of the large supply bags and snuck up to part of the fence covered in dead ivy to gaze into the supposed sanctuary.

"We all spread out," He ordered. "Watch for a while, see what we see, and get ready. We all stay close." Daryl tilted his head before he wandered off to the left side of the fence to start his recon. "Do you want to stick with me?" Rick asked his son.

The thirteen-year-old shook his head, "It's alright," He moved away from his father and closer to where Michonne was heading to do her search.

The woman raised her brows as she walked with the boy, "Why didn't you go with your dad?" She waited for a response as they moved around a group of bushes and sighed. "When I told you about Andre, you never asked how he died."

"I knew why," Carl said.

She glanced at him, "yeah, but the how is important," She slowed her walking. "We went to a refugee camp. Andre and my boyfriend Mike, that was Andre's father, and our friend Terry. At the camp, it just got worse and worse. People were leaving. People giving up. But I didn't. I was coming back from a run. I saw the fences were down. Heard the moans. It was over." Michonne sniffled as she continued her tale, "And Mike and Terry, they were high when it happened. They were bit. Could have stopped it. Could have killed them. But I let them turn. I made it so they couldn't bite, couldn't scratch. I tied chains around their necks. It was insane. It was sick. It felt like what I deserved, dragging them around so I would always know."

She shook her head and started to move along the fence again, "I found out that they kept me safe. They hid me. The walkers didn't see me anymore. I was just another monster. And I was. I was gone for a long time," Carl looked up at her when she paused. "But then Andrea brought me back. Your dad brought me back. You did. I see how you've been looking at your dad. You don't have to be afraid of me or him."

Carl gulped as he looked away, "He told me the other day that he was proud of me. That I was a good man. I'm not."

"Carl."

"I know more now," He cut Michonne off. "About what he wanted from me. And I tried, but...I still have these thoughts. I'm not what he thinks I am. I'm just another monster, too."

She gave the boy a sad smile and pulled him into a hug, hoping to offer him some comfort from his self-destructive thoughts. After they pulled away and walked the fence a bit more they made their way back to where Daryl and Rick were digging a hole and tossing a large blue bag full of supplies into it.

"Just in case," Rick stated as he started to toss dirt back into the hole. Daryl carved a small marker on one of the trees and after Rick was done with the dirt he added some leaves over the earth to hide it better.

After the stash was hidden Rick and the others made their way over to the fence and over it, successfully entering Terminus in secret. The group kept their weapons raised as they snuck over the train tracks and over to a mass of warehouse buildings. They stopped by a propped open fire escape and slipped into the building, following the sound of a woman broadcasting on a radio until they came upon a large room with the woman speaking into a transponder and other painting signs on the far side of the area. Daryl eyed the woman as he counted the seven odd people on the far side of the room and carefully stepped out of the doorway, catching the older woman's attention.

She stopped her repeating words as she looked ta the four in surprise and one of the men painting signs looked up at them in slight annoyance, "Well, I bet Albert is on perimeter watch," He dropped the paintbrush he was holding an approached the group. "You here to rob us?"

"No," Rick called out. "We wanted to see you before you saw us."

The man smirked, "Makes sense, usually, we do this where the tracks meet. Welcome to Terminus," He placed a hand on his chest, "I'm Gareth. Looks like you've been on the road for a good bit."

"We have," Rick agreed. "Rick. That's Carl, Daryl, Michonne."

Gareth waved lightly at the group and sighed, "You're nervous, I get it. We were all the same way. We came here for sanctuary. That what you're here for?"

The leader of the four nodded, "Yes."

"Goof, you found it. Hey, Alex," He called to one of the men back at the tables. "This isn't as pretty as the front. We got nothing to hide, but the welcome wagon is a whole lot nicer." He gestured to another man walking up to the group, "Alex will take you, ask you a few questions. Uh, but first, we need to see everyone's weapons. If you could just lay them down in front of you."

Daryl tensed at the request, but when he looked at Rick and the man tilted his head slightly he relented and dropped his crossbow to the floor. Carl, Rick, and Michonne then did the same, "Alright," Rick muttered as he laid his gun on the ground.

"I'm sure you understand," Gareth said.

"Yes, I do."

Rick raised his arms and waited as Gareth and the other man, Alex, quickly padded down each of them to check of extra weapons, "Hate to see the other guy," Alex mumbled as he glanced at Daryl's face.

"You would," The bearded leader bit out.

"They deserve it?" The man asked as he moved onto check Carl.

The boy gave him a cold stare, "Yes."

"Just so you know, we aren't those kind of people," Gareth assured as he and Alex stepped back from the four so they could pick their weapons back up. "But we aren't stupid either. And you shouldn't be stupid enough to try anything stupid. As long as everybody's clear on that, we shouldn't have any problems. Just solutions."

"Follow me," Alex smiled as he walked to another door on the other side of the room. The leader eyed the man but led his people after the stranger further into Terminus.

Alex led them out into a courtyard with people sitting at tables eating while an older woman was manning an outdoor grill, "So how long's this place been here?" Daryl asked as he observed the place.

"Since almost the start," He replied. "When all the camps got overrun, people started finding this place. I think it was instinct, you know? Follow a path. Some folks were heading to the coast, others out west or up north, but they all wound up here."

He paused them in front of the grill and the older woman gave them a soft smile, "Hi. Heard you came in the back door. Smart. You'll fit right in here."

"Hey, Mary, would you fix each of these folks a plate for me?"

Rick and Daryl glanced around the area, "Why do you do it? Why do you let people in?" Michonne wondered as she eyed Alex.

Daryl followed Rick's eyes to an orange backpack he recognized from the prison and frowned as his eyes swept the courtyard and focused on other familiar things: A full set of riot gear one of the people were wearing, a poncho sitting on one of the chairs, a child curled up and holding a slightly torn deer toy as they cried. The hunter absently passed over the kid, but as soon as he recognized the toy he swiveled his head back to them, drowning out whatever the man was saying to Michonne.

The boy lifted his head as Rick noticed a silver chain sticking out of Alex's pocket. Rick lunged at the man at the same time the child took off past a man sitting by him, effectively avoiding his arms as he raced towards his father.

"Daddy!"

"Where the hell did you get this watch?!"

Daryl opened his arms for Eren and gripped his son tight while Rick kept his gun to the side of Alex's head. Carl and Michonne stared at the wailing three-year-old in shock as they pulled their own weapons to keep back the tense people in the courtyard. Eren shoved his small arms around his dad's neck as he cried, and Daryl maneuvered to hold his crossbow up at the people slowly approaching him in one arm and his kid on the other.

"I'll ask you again," Rick bit out as he noticed Airianna's son clinging to Daryl. "Where the hell did you get this watch?"

"You want answers? You want anything else? You get them when you put down the gun," Alex sputtered as he shook in Rick's crushing grip.

Rick tiled the hostage up to look at a man aiming at the ragtag group, "I see your man on the roof with a sniper rifle. How good's his aim?" He leaned closer to his ear. "Where'd you get the watch?!"

"Don't do anything!" Alex yelled up to the man on the roof. "I have this! You just put it down! You put it down!" He gulped as the man stepped back and he barely tilted his head closer to Rick, "You want to listen to me. There's a lot of us."

"Where did you get the watch," Rick repeated.

"I got it off of a dead one," He quickly explained. "I didn't think he'd need it."

The leader jerked him to face the other people watching, "What about the riot gear? The poncho?"

"Got the riot gear off a dead cop," Rick spun himself and his hostage back around to see Gareth calmly approaching the scene. "Found the poncho on a clothesline."

"Gareth we can wait-"

"Shut up, Alex," The man coldly hissed.

Rick glared at the thin man, "You talk to me."

"What's there left to say?" He asked Rick. "You don't trust us anymore."

"Gareth-"

"Shut up," He snapped at Alex again.

"Gareth, please."

"It's okay," He reassured his group member. "Rick, what do you want?"

Rick glanced over to Eren still nestled in Daryl's arms, "Why do you have Daryl's son here?"

"Found him alone in the woods with this dying woman, said her name was Sasha, I think," Gareth calmly elaborated. "So we-"

"NO! Took uncle Glenn!" Eren screeched in his dad's arms and the four others tensed at the toddler's sentence. Gareth shot the child a heated glare and Daryl pointed his weapon directly at the man looking at his son.

"Where are our people?" Rick snapped as Eren's cry echoed in his head.

Gareth smirked, "You didn't answer my question," Rick caught the man signaling and he shoved Alex while jumping to the side, avoiding the sniper shot aimed for his head while Alex took it instead. The man dropped to the ground dead and the rest of the group started to fire on the others as they scrambled for cover. Rick jumped in front of Daryl to help him cover the smaller child as he led them away from the courtyard, but jumped back as gunshots landed on the ground by his feet and he pushed them off another way.

The bullets continued to hit near their feet until they ducked into an overhang and slipped into an unlocked door labeled A. They evaded more gunfire as they ran past discarded cars and empty wooden crates to a fork in the road.

"Get them off B!"

Another rain of shots hit, blocking their way. Michonne grabbed Rick to keep him from the bullets and backed him up to the other open way. They fired at the people hiding on the roofs and Rick and Daryl caught sight of a giant pile of human bones stripped lying on a tarp in the sun. The two men grimaced at the sight but kept running after Michonne and Carl who luckily had not noticed the carnage. They passed a stack of metal storage containers and heard people banging on the inside of them crying for help.

"What the hell?" Daryl hissed as they rushed by the trapped people.

Rick shoved his back, "Keep moving!" They ran into a building and slipped into a room littered with candles and names all over the walls. Their movement slowed down as they took in the enshrined room.

"What the hell is this place?" Michonne asked as Daryl paused to pull his son further up in his arms.

The hunter shrugged as he eyed the eerily calm room and rubbed Eren's back lightly, "I don't think they're tryin' to kill us."

"No, they were aiming at our feet," Rick agreed. "There." He pointed to a door on the other side of the room and the race to escape started again.

They tried to flee from the door, but a person outside slammed it shut. They instead made their way out of another door with the letter A labeled on it. The gunshots resumed outside, but they attempted to make a run for the fence when a swarm of people with guns rose up from the other side of the fence, trapping them where they stood. Daryl growled at the people surrounding them as he leaned his head on his son's, attempting to comfort him. Rick looked to Carl and saddened at the fear in his eyes, but gave him a strong look in return to keep his hopeful.

"Drop your weapons! Now!" Gareth yelled as he stepped to the edge of one of the rooftops. None of the four moved and inch at his demand. "_Now_!" They sighed but dropped their guns, knives, crossbow, and katana to the concrete. "Ringleader, go to your left. The train car, go." Rick eyed the lone train car sitting to the left of where they were, "You do what we say and the boy goes with you. Anything else, he dies and you end up in there anyway."

Rick nodded as he shared a look with his son and slowly walked towards the car.

"Now the samurai," Michonne glared at the man but silently followed after Rick.

Gareth pointed to Daryl, "Now the archer. You can even take your brat with you."

The man wished he could burn holes in the asshole's head as he kept Eren close in his arms, angrily following after Michonne and Rick. The three reached the steps to the train car and Rick glanced back to where Carl was standing alone.

"Stand at the door. Ringleader, samurai, archer. In that order," Gareth called out once more.

"My son," Rick yelled back.

The man sighed, "Go, kid," Carl breathed in relief as he followed after his family. "Ringleader, open the door and go in."

"I'll go in with him," Rick called as he watched Carl get closer.

"Don't make us kill him now!"

Rick grimaced as he climbed the steps and shoved the metal door open, eyeing the dark interior of the train car. He stepped into the cage and Michonne and Daryl quickly followed after him. He turned back to the door pulled Carl to his side when he too joined them inside the metal box. The door was pulled shut after the teenager entered and the four were engulfed in darkness. Eren hiccuped and started to cry again, but his dad rubbed his back as he shushed him, trying to calm him down after the terrifying events.

There was a thud on the other side of the train car and Rick suspiciously glanced towards it, reaching for his gun but tensing when he remembered his holster was empty. A group of people slowly walked their way to the newcomers and Rick relaxed as he made out Glenn's face.

"Rick?"

He looked at his friend, seeing Maggie, Sasha, and Bob behind him along with a few new faces, "You're here. You're here."

Maggie looked back on the other four behind them when she noticed Rick giving them a strange look, "They're our friends. They helped save us."

"Yeah, now they're friends of ours," Daryl declared as he glanced at the group.

Abraham scoffed, "For however long that'll be."

"No," Rick shook his head. They're gonna feel pretty stupid when they find out," He muttered as he moved to look out a crack in the wall.

"Find out what?" The sergeant asked.

"They're screwing with the wrong people."


	37. Chapter 37

Merle groaned as he walked down the tracks with Tyreese and Sophia. Finding them yesterday was a goddamn miracle, but he hated how badly they insisted on going to the hella obvious trap called Terminus. Maybe he was being paranoid, but signs everywhere leading people in? Kinda odd nowadays.

But he at least knew Airianna would be happy he found the blonde girl she was so fond of. Knew that would comfort her wherever she and Beth were. And he also knew he couldn't go find and haul their asses out of trouble without more manpower, so back to plan A: Find group members in Terminus and track down those fucktards parading as cops.

He hated cops before, but now.

"We're close," Sophia said as she glanced around.

Merle nodded in agreement as they noticed another sign on the tracks, "Gonna get y'all's asses there. But then I gotta split."

Tyreese frowned, "You only just found us. Why leave?"

"Cuz' Airi and Beth got scooped up by some jag-off," He explained. "Have to find them. I told ya this last night."

"But there's strength in numbers," Sophia chimed in. "None of us would leave either of them behind. So when we find the group, we'll all find them."

The trio turned as a walker stumbled out of the woods and the teenager rolled her eyes and adjusted Judith in her grip as Merle motioned for Tyreese to take care of the thing.

"I can't," The man looked away. "Not yet."

The Dixon man scoffed but simply walked over and shivved it in the eye with his prosthetic, "Gonna have to get over whatever's botherin' ya, big man."

He glanced up to where the walker came from and cursed when he caught the herd it separated from heading their way. He scrambled to his feet and shoved the pair plus the baby off of the tracks and behind a few rocks past the treeline, hoping the walkers would pass them by. They tensely watched as they inched closer to their hiding spot before gunshots rang out further down the tracks and they lumbered away towards the more attractive noise. The older man waited until it was silent once more before he led them back out to the tracks.

"That gunfire, it could have been from Terminus," Tyreese mumbled.

"Someone's attackin' them," He guessed. "Or they were attackin' someone."

Tyreese stopped walking, "Do we even want to find out?"

"Yeah," Sophia said as she looked to the ground. "There's another track due east. It'll get us there. We'll be real careful, don't worry Tyreese."

The man smirked at the teenager, "My job to worry, here," He opened his arms and she passed Judith to him, smiling as the baby perked up at his face.

"We gonna get us some answers," Merle agreed as they veered off of the main railroad to take Sophia's detour.

They walked through the woods until they came across another set of railroad tracks and started to make their way back towards Terminus when Merle held up his hand. He shushed the curious teenager and listened closely to the sounds of the forest. He started to move in a different direction when the heard the faint crackle of a hand-held radio. The other two followed silent but extremely curious about what could have distracted their friend.

Interestingly enough, they came across a small hunting cabin with a car parked outside of it. The trio hid in the trees as they watched a man walk out of the building and toss a handful of fireworks on the ground before he whipped out the radio Merle was hearing earlier.

"You screw up, you're on your own, Martin," A voice over the device hissed.

The man, Martin, smirked, "You don't have to tell me. I wipe my own ass," He fiddled with the firework as he kept the radio to his mouth. "Alex didn't get it. See, I knew the chick with the sword was bad news. Bitch looked like a weapon with a weapon" Merle quirked his brows at the man's obvious description of Michonne and quietly pulled out his gun, motioning for Sophia to do the same.

The voice on the other end of the radio hissed back, "He was always a sloppy-ass motherfucker."

The man smirked at the other voice, completely missing the two figures slipping up behind him, "Yeah, I told Albert I want the kid's hat after they bleed him out."

"Keep your finger off the button and drop it," The man let the radio fall to the ground as he followed the female's voice.

He lightly turned his head and frowned at the young girl holding a gun to her head with two large, intimidating men standing behind her, "Listen, y'all don't have to do this. Whatever you want, we got a place where everyone's welcome."

"Shut up man," Tyreese snapped.

"Okay."

"We're friends of the chick with the sword and the kid in the hat," Merle grunted as he kept his gun on the man as well.

He walked around to the front of the guy and watched him closely as Sophia found some roped to wrap up his hands. The redneck man then dragged him into the cabin to keep in out of view of any people that may come looking for him.

"They attacked us. We're just holding them," He promised as he sat on the floor.

Sophia sneered at the man, "I don't believe you," She pulled one of the rifles she and Tyreese had from their supply bag and swung it over her shoulder with her bow.

"Who else do you have?" Tyreese asked from nearby the girl. "Do you know their names?"

"We just have the boy and the samurai, that's it," He repeated. Merle snorted at the man's shit lying as he too grabbed one of the few large guns they had. "We were just protecting ourselves."

"Girlie here said she don't believe you and I am inclined to trust her," He drawled.

"There's a bunch of us out there in six different directions. There was a lot of gunfire back home," Martin muttered as he watched the one-armed man shuffle through his duffle bag full of fireworks. "We need to set off our charges all at the same time to confuse the dead ones away. That's good for you, too."

The blonde shook her head as she picked up two fabric tarps and bundled them up in her arms, "No, it isn't. There's a herd heading towards Terminus right now. We don't want to confuse them away." She passed the coverings to Merle and he tossed them into the duffle bag before he swung it onto his shoulder.

The older man clapped the girl on the shoulder for her quick thinking, "We gonna need their help big time."

"It's a compound," He tried to convince them. "They'll see you coming. If you even make it that far with all the cold bodies heading over."

The girl rolled her eyes and moved to follow Merle out of the building when Tyreese caught her arm, "Sophia," She glanced at him and Judith. "You both don't need to do this. You can stay here."

"Carl needs my help," She argued. "So does Michonne. And everyone else they have trapped there. I'm not letting anyone else I care about die without trying to help save them."

She stormed from the cabin and Tyreese shut the door behind her. Merle followed after her and they moved in the woods until a walker stumbled upon them. The man quickly killed the sucker and was about to walk off when Sophia shook her head and kneeled down beside it.

"Pass me a tarp," He eyed her oddly but did as she asked. She cut a small hole in the fabric and tossed it over her head like a poncho. She then used her knife to slice into the walker's torso and began to smear its blood and guts all over the covering.

Merle grimaced in disgust, "Oh I recognize that fuckin' shit. Why Airi done teach ya this?"

She motioned for him to join her and he reluctantly made himself a makeshift poncho and allowed her to cover him in the nasty ass smelling shit as well, "Good way to hide with the walkers. How she found you when you ran off to play hero last time."

"Yeah, and we almost died."

The teen shrugged as she slipped her gun higher on her shoulder under the tarp, "Easy then. We just don't get killed."

The man snorted but continued tracking their way to the fences surrounding Terminus. He dropped the duffle bag to the ground and motioned for the girl to get low. They both pulled up their weapons and used the scopes to spy on the other group. Sophia tensed as she caught a group of men pulling Rick, Daryl, Glenn, and Bob out of a train car and tied them up before they were dragged away. She heard Merle snarl as he watched the event play out.

"Fuckin' course they got my baby brother," He growled under his breath.

"If they have Glenn then they have Eren too," The blonde figured as she rose to her feet. "Come on. We have to see if the herd's here yet."

The two snuck along the fence until the reached an area with a clear view of the entrance and the large mass of walkers heading their way. Sophia used her scope to watch the people but the gate killing walkers through the chain while Merle smirked as he noticed a large tank of propane gas sitting right by one of the sides of the main entrance. They heard the people on the other side of the fence yelling and pulled back their scopes to see a wave of hundreds of walkers ambling their way right to where the pair wanted them to be.

Merle grabbed one of the fireworks from the bag and slipped it into the tip of the gun's chamber, "Best start shootin' at them assholes and catchin' the dead pricks attentions. Aim at that large gas tank too."

"Aye, aye captain," Sophia muttered as she unscrewed the silencer on her gun, allowing the weapon's bullets to rip through the air as she began to fire on the people running away. Once she incapacitated enough of the hostile group she turned the barrel of her gun towards the tank, taking a few shots at it until one of them hit the spout off of it. Gas started to spew from the tank and into the air and Merle quickly lit the firework with his lighter and pulled the girl to the ground. They both watched in amazement as the explosive hit the tank perfectly and blew up the whole side of the fence like the tossed a whole chunk of C4 at the gate.

Merle nudged the girl and they walked down the hill and towards the carnage, slipping into the burning gate as easy as the rest of the walkers. They kept close to the undead corpses as they poured into Terminus, avoiding the screaming members of the community as they were eaten by the walkers. Sophia motioned to Merle and they both ducked into an open doorway at the sound of gunshots, pulling out their own weapons to shoot at the gunmen. Merle hit one of them perfectly in the head before a walker noticed he and Sophia were breathing a bit too much and they slammed the door shut behind them.

They paused as they glanced at the giant room full of supplies, more than anyone could ever need in a lifetime. They both perused the tables and Sophia stopped in front of Rick's silver watch while Merle smirked and tossed his brother's crossbow over his shoulder. They both started to move past the rest of the stolen items, but the teen quickly scooped up Eren's filthy little deer from a table full of other stuffed animals and children's toys. She lifted the sentimental item up for Merle to see and he snatched it out of her hand, slipping it into one of his shirt's pockets.

The Dixon gestured to the two doors ahead of them, "Gonna head to the left, swing into that room there and I'll meet ya back outside."

Sophia quietly walked into the empty room and froze at the sight of candles everywhere, names painted onto the walls and the floor. She carefully stepped around the candles lit for the dead and made her way toward a door with walkers growling behind it when a gun cocked behind her.

"Drop your weapons and turn around!" The woman behind her hissed. "I want to see your face. Now!"

She quickly slipped her bow off of her shoulder, but lifted the rifle as she turned and fired it into the room. The woman dropped to the ground and her gun skid along the floor away from her. The teenager kicked it away from her before she could pick it up at the older woman lunged at her, knocking her into a shelve full of candles. They both fell to the floor and rolled around until Sophia was lucky enough to kick her in the gun and scramble to her feet. The woman grabbed a candleholder but froze when she saw the girl holding a gun up to her face.

She sighed and held in her tears as she faced the teenager head-on, "The signs...They were real. It was a sanctuary. People came and took this place. "

"Just tell me where-"

The woman cut her off, "And they raped, and they killed...And they laughed. Over weeks. But we got out and we fought and we got it back. And we heard the message: You're the butcher or you're the cattle."

Sophia glared at her, "The men they pulled from that train car, where are they?" When the woman stayed silent she lowered the gun and shot the woman in her leg. She fell to the floor screaming in pain. "Where are they?!"

She moaned in pain as she looked at the girl, "Now...Point it at my head," She began to giggle hysterically. "You could have been one of us. You could have listened to what the world is telling you."

"You lead people here and you take what they have and you kill them?" The girl guessed. "Is that what this place is?"

"No, not a first," The injured woman whimpered. "It's what it had to be. And we're still here."

"Not here for much longer," The blonde snapped. She picked up her bow and turned towards the door with the walkers right outside. She shoved the door open enough for the walkers to slip in, ignoring her to attack the crying woman on the floor.

She shook her head as she stumbled back against the wall as the crazy woman's wails echoed in the air. She waited against the wall for a moment until she saw Merle come sneaking up to her.

"Saw Daryl and Rick hoppin' the fences with the others," He said as he started to pull the girl through the crowd. "We gotta get the hell outta dodge and find their asses."

She nodded and followed him as they made their way back out of the burning community. They quickly ditched the tarps once they were far enough away and collected their duffle bag of supplies Merle left behind before they snuck in with the herd. They quietly circled the woods to where Merle and seen his brother and their leader jump the fence, trying to catch sight of the group. They heard yelling in the distance and Sophia quickened her pace until she and Merle were a few feet away from their people.

Sophia beamed as she looked at Daryl and Carl and took a step towards them, pausing when Daryl turned around and noticed her and Merle standing behind them. He ran towards both of them and pulled her into a tight hold, smiling as the group watched on in amazement. He pulled away from the girl and turned to hug his brother, ignoring as Merle grumbled in embarrassment. The blonde then took a few careful steps up to Carl and the boy pulled her to him and he laughed in shock.

"Did you two do that?" Rick asked as the brothers parted.

"Bet your sweet ass we did," Merle proclaimed as he ruffled Daryl's hair a little bit. "Sophia here went all out."

The girl laughed at Merle's complement and sniffled as Maggie walked over to her with Eren in her arms, "Fia! Fia!" She tried to hold in her tears as she scooped the little boy into her arms, relishing his grip around her neck.

Rick smiled at Merle and tossed a hand over his shoulder in a one-armed hug. The man rolled his eyes but returned the favor, "Thank you."

Sophia glanced at all the familiar faces of the group before she turned back to Carl, "You have to come with us."

Rick smiled at the young girl and allowed her and Merle to lead the way through the forest until the came across the road leading up to the cabin. The group slowed when the saw the structure but Sasha, Rick, and Carl took off sprinting when they saw Tyreese come out of the cabin with Judith in his arms. Rick cried as he took his daughter from the man's arms and Sasha flung herself at her brother, both families sobbing at their reunion. Rick and Carl fawned over the infant as Sophia tucked herself into Daryl's side, finally feeling fully safe.

Rick walked over to Tyreese and shared quiet words of thanks and grips on the shoulder while Carl came back over and hugged Sophia again, lightly kissing her on the cheek. The girl blushed at the affection and laughed when Daryl and Merle grumbled at the teenage boy.

The group collectively decided to rest for a second and the blonde passed Eren to Merle so he could return the boy's toy to him. The toddler squealed in happiness as his uncle reunited him with his deer again and Daryl laughed at his son's exclamations.

Sophia shuffled her way over to Tyreese when she noticed a haunted look in his eye, "Tyreese are you okay? Did something happen?"

"There were walkers outside, and he got his hands around Judith while I was distracted," The girl gasped and turned to walk inside the cabin but Tyreese caught her arm. "He's gone. Don't worry. I did what I had to."

"I'm sorry you had to, Tyreese," She whispered.

He gave the girl a soft smile, "I'm not."

"I don't know if the fire's still burning," Rick called out as he looked to the blame tower of smoke in the sky.

Sophia sadly smirked, "It is."

He glanced at the girl and nodded his head, "Yeah, we need to go."

"Yeah, but where?" Daryl asked.

"Somewhere far away from there."


	38. Chapter 38

Screaming from the hall jerked Airianna and Beth out of their light sleep. They both clambered out of their separate beds and fled from their room, rushing to the sight of the loud wails. Airi held the teenager back as they watched two of the officers drag a woman down the hall and into one of the rooms.

One of the officers stuck his head out at the two women, "Dawn needs you. Now," The pair sighed and followed him into the room, shortly followed by Dr. Steven.

The pregnant woman cringed as she watched the cops hold down the woman as she flailed on the bed, "She's lucky we found her," Dawn muttered as she had the other cops strap her to the hospital bed. "Whatever you were thinking, it wasn't worth it. Okay, you have two choices. Either we cut off your arm or you do."

She glanced down to the woman's arm and noticed the sizeable bite arm marring the skin, "Screw you, and your little bitch!"

"Smartass whore," Gorman sneered as he stormed up to the woman.

"Gorman, get out of here!" Dawn harshly ordered.

The male doctor stepped around the two women and tried to stick a needle in the patient's arm, but she kicked him away from her, "It's anesthetic. You need it."

"Go to hell!"

"Steven, she made her choice. Do it," The female cops said as she tried to keep the woman restrained on the bed. The man sighed but slipped a tourniquet onto her arm.

"No, no! I said leave me alone!" She cried.

Dawn shook her head, "We are not going to let you die. We are not going to let you turn."

Beth gasped and turned away from the sight in the room. Airi pushed the girl behind her and stepped forward to grab onto the woman's legs, pinching her pressure points to keep her from kicking at her. Dawn turned to her in surprise as she helped restrain the patient, but Airi ignored her as she looked to Edwards.

"Make sure that thing's tight enough or she's gonna bleed out before you can cauterize the blood vessels," Airi suggested.

"I know how to do my damn job," Edwards shot back at the woman.

"Where are you going!?" Dawn shouted as she finally noticed Beth trying to sneak out of the room.

"I can't help her, I don't know how," The blonde weakly said as she sadly watched the woman thrash on the bed.

"Your friend is helping just fine," Dawn hissed as she motioned to Airi by the end of the bed.

"But Airi knows how-"

"Do you want her to die?!" Beth rapidly shook her head.

Airi shifted so she blocked Dawn from Beth's view, "Beth just help me hold her down, hon. Alright? Just like when we helped your dad when he was hurt."

The girl sniffled but moved to stand next to her friend, grabbing one of the woman's legs and holding her the same way the redhead was, "Do it now. Now."

"Keep your hands off of me!" The woman wailed. "I'm not going back to him!"

"You don't have to," Dawn promised.

The woman laughed, "You can't control them."

"I will."

"Beth, Airi. Are you ready?"

The pair nodded at the doctor and watched as he sawed through her arm with a thick metal wire, cleanly severing the muscle and bone. When the infected limb was successfully taken off Edwards ordered the two off to collect extra sets of clean scrubs for themselves and the injured woman. Airianna quickly wrapped her arms around Beth, grabbed the ruined clothes the woman was wearing earlier, and led her away from the gruesome sight. They wandered through the halls until they reached the linen closet and cracked open the door, catching the attention of Noah.

"You okay?" He asked as he caught the shocked look on Beth's face as Airi dropped the soiled linens in a laundry basket. "I'm Noah. Of the Lollipop Guild."

"Beth," She gave him a small smile. "Thanks for that."

"Figured you could use a pick-me-up after yesterday," He explained as he continued to iron a shirt. "Guess I should have brought the whole jar." He gently passed some clean clothes over to the pregnant woman, "Here, these should fit."

"Do you know what happened with the woman they brought in?" Beth asked. "If she had stayed, worked for a while, couldn't she have just left?"

Noah chuckled, "I haven't seen it work like that yet, doubt it would have worked for Joan."

"How long have you been here?" Airi wondered.

"I guess about a year," The woman tensed at his words and watched as he pulled up his pant leg, revealing a twisted scar from some sort of deep injury. "Dad and I were both pretty messed up when they found us. They said that they could only save one." He scoffed, "For the longest time I actually believed them. Now I get it. Dad was bigger, stronger. Would have fought back. Would have been a threat."

Beth grimaced, "They left him behind on purpose?"

The redhead sighed as she rubbed her face, "Bet that's what they did with Daryl and Merle."

"And Dawn just looked the other way," Noah grumbled. "See, she's in charge, but just barely. And it's getting worse. It's why I'm out of here when the time is right. We came looking for my uncle. Gotta get back to my mom."

The mother nodded, "Where's home?"

"Richmond, Virginia," He smiled as he reminisced. "We had walls. See, they think I'm scrawny. They think I'm weak. But they don't know shit about me. About what I am."

"Doubt they know what we are either," Beth said as she glanced at Airianna.

"No, I don't think they do," Noah agreed.

The women nodded to him as they made their way out of the room and back to Joan's room to drop off the new clothes. One of the cops waved Beth down to do some task for her and the two women parted ways. Airianna sighed at the unconscious girl sadly before she stepped from the room to check on Steven's other new patient. She was surprised to see the man already in there, giving the comatose man a heated glare.

"He's a doctor, isn't he?" Edwards whipped around at the sound of her soft voice. "That's why you were so reluctant to help."

He gave the pregnant woman a tight smirk, "I just didn't want to waste resources as Dawn ordered."

She quirked her brows, "I'm pregnant, not stupid," She walked over to the man's bedside. "Used to work here, up in Oncology if I recall."

"And how would you have any idea of that?" Steven huffed.

"Met him at a conference once," She casually muttered. "Nice guy, good doctor."

"A conference?" He doubtfully asked.

Airi side-eyed the male doctor, "I was the Chief of Surgery down in King County when this all happened. One of the best in our field, Steven."

"Wait," She watched as the man's face paled. "You're a doctor?"

"Yes."

He gulped, "Why not tell Dawn? She'd treat you and Beth far better."

"I saw how you reacted when Dawn insisted you save him," She explained. "She wants another doctor because then you are expendable. And I know that you will try anything to make sure this man doesn't make it. You're desperate."

"Dawn...Dawn doesn't want me gone," He stammered.

"Bet Gorman does," Airi mumbled. "Just makes it easier for him if he can get a doctor who will give him a blind eye as well. I'm guessing he was the man Joan was upset about."

The doctor looked at the ground, "Yeah, he is."

"Well, I can help you deal with your issue if you help me with mine," Stevens looked at the woman in shock.

"What issue do you have?"

"My baby," She said as she rubbed her stomach. "And Beth. I'm worried about them." She turned to lock eyes with the weary man, "So I say nothing to Dawn about my medical degree, help you on the side. Makes you look even more impressive to her. You keep an eye on my friend and, God forbid we're here that long, my baby."

"What about Trevitt?" He asked.

"Oh there are plenty of meds that can cause seizures commonly associated with strokes and brain damage," The female doctor theorized in a sweet tone. "Just have to pick the right one when no one's looking."

"So we kill him?"

"No," She shook her head. "He'll live _if _you help, which you will to keep Dawn happy. But he will be brain dead and useless to her."

She turned on her heel to walk from the room but paused as the other doctor caught her arm, "I need Beth to give him the drugs. It will look too suspicious if I walk into his room, leave, and then he suddenly starts to flatline."

"Absolutely not," Airianna refused. "I'll do it. I know what to give him. If Dawn asks just tell her you told me something else, then there's no way in hell she'll ever think I could be a doctor."

"But she could hurt you," He argued.

The redhead scoffed, "Slapping around a pregnant woman will only alienate her from the actual good officers here even more. She's not stupid enough to so that," She rubbed her arm lightly as she thought over the plan. "But there's something I need you to do."

"Anything," He promised.

She gave Edwards a small smile, "Could I have an ultrasound sometime? I want to see how my baby's doing."

The man smiled back at her and nodded before Beth stuck her head in the doorway asking for him. Edwards sighed and swept from the room to go check on Joan, who Beth informed was now awake. Beth waved at the female Dixon before she wandered back to their room for a small break. Airianna glanced at Trevitt laying on the medical bed and sighed. She didn't want to get the man killed, but she knew that if she didn't do something to get either Edwards or Dawn on their side then they would not last long here. And luckily for her Edwards was far easier to convince than the bitch in charge.

She gave the unconscious man one more sorrowful glance before she walked out of the room and started to make her way down the hall to her shared room with Beth. She hurried her movement when she noticed Gorman standing inside the room alone with the blonde girl.

"Yeah, that's right," She sneered at the man's cocky tone.

"Get the hell away from her."

The cop turned around and Airianna noticed Beth's scared face and the lollipop hanging out of her mouth being gripped by his hand. Gorman scoffed as he approached the pregnant woman, "Just making sure I found the owner of that sweet treat."

"Oh I know what you were doing," She glared. "And you better _stay_ away from Beth."

He smirked and trailed his hand down the front of her shirt, "And what are you going to do about it?"

"Leave them alone, Gorman."

The cop stepped away from the redhead as Dr. Edwards stormed into the room with a disgusted look on his face. Airi inched away from the overweight man as he sized the doctor up and untensed her body when Beth grabbed her by the arm and pulled her further away.

"The girl should've been mine," The cop muttered as he watched the doctor.

"Nobody's yours, Gorman," Edwards hissed. "Nobody. And if you think you're getting Joan back-"

"Oh I'm gonna get her back," He declared as he waved the candy in his face. "You think Dawn's gonna stop me?"

"I will."

The officer smirked, "You stepping up, Doc?"

Edwards smirked back, "What happens when you get sick, Gorman? When you get an infection? When you get bit?"

The shorter man hummed, "I think there's gonna be somebody. Somebody who ain't you."

"Gorman," The four in the room paused at the sound of Dawn's voice from the hall as she and two other cops peered into the room.

The creep huffed, "And maybe somebody in charge who ain't her," With his final whisper he walked from the room, but not before he turned and gave the blonde and redhead a wink that sent chills down their spines.

"Why do you stay?" Beth asked the doctor. "You could leave whenever you want. Why do you stay here?"

He sighed and motioned for the pair to follow him. He led the women down to the far end of the hall to the door for the stairwell. Slowly walking down the eight flights of stairs to accommodate the pregnant woman's speed. When they reached the ground floor he walked to a closed metal gate leading to the outside of the hospital.

"Welcome to the ground floor of Grady Memorial Hospital," He announced as they walked up to the gate. "This isn't a way out. There isn't one. Not from here."

"Has to be a way out," The female doctor mumbled. "How else did we get dragged in here."

"Why'd you bring us here?" Beth wondered as she gazed out through the barricade.

"Watch."

He picked up a large metal pipe and ran it up and down the gate, creating a large screeching noise of metal against metal. The trio watched as walkers started to fling themselves at the gate to reach the humans on the other side, growling and rasping as they failed to reach their prey.

"When I start thinking about it too much, I come down here to look at this," He admitted.

"Why'd you bring us here?" Beth repeated.

He looked down at the girl, "You asked why I stay," He glanced at the walkers one more time before he offered his arm to the pregnant woman. "Come on. Let me tell you a story."

He slowly led them back up the entire stairwell and up to the door leading to the roof. The teenager opened the door for him and Airi and he quickly led the pregnant woman to a small bench in the sunlight.

"I know pregnant women need exercise, but that's some hard shit," She wheezed out as she tried to regain her breath. Beth and Edwards smirked at her dry humor.

"When everything started, Dawn reported to a guy named Hanson," Steven began as he walked around the small garden on the roof to the ledge overlooking the city. "They had orders to clear the hospital and move everyone to Butler Park. It was close to midnight when we heard the jets, The bombs. The screams." He sighed as he looked out at the destroyed city, "I was on the third floor. Dawn and Hanson's teams were doing a final sweep. And we knew it was bad. Just didn't know how bad until we came up here. The city had fallen. And everyone we evacuated...They were just gone."

He walked back over to the sitting woman and the blonde hovering over her, "We kept mostly to ourselves at first. Till the food ran out. We started going out on runs, a few of us at a time. We'd see people who needed help. Barely holding on. But we were barely holding on ourselves," He sat down next to Airi as he wrung his hands together. "Came a time I couldn't look away anymore. I found this kid. Napalm burns on his clothes, his skin. Dawn said we couldn't spare the resources. So we struck a deal. I'd use what I could to heal him and he'd compensate us for those resources through service. Now…"

Beth shook her head, "You're not the problem."

"We lost people," He stated. "That was the problem. Hanson cracked, he made some calls that got people killed. Dawn took care of things. She took care of him."

"That's not the problem either," Airianna said.

"But she saw us past it," He argued. "Kept us together. Kept us alive."

"You call this living?" Beth wondered.

Edwards chuckled, "We're still breathing. Patients we brought here, they're still breathing. Outside these walls, alone, unprotected, they'd be dead. We'd be dead."

Airi snorted, "Not Beth and I."

"A teenager and a pregnant woman on your own?" He posed. "Not good odds."

"We have people, family. They're looking for us," Beth claimed.

The doctor shook his head, "We're not the ones who make it. As bad as it gets, it's still better than down there."

"We should get back," Beth mumbled as she moved to help the pregnant mother stand back up.

"How about you both look in on Mr. Trevitt and call it a day?" He asked as he gave the redhead a meaningful look. She gave him a subtle nod back that Beth missed as she helped her to her feet. "He's stable, due for another 75mg of clonazepam. And tomorrow, we'll start fresh. Might even find time for an ultrasound for Airianna here."

Beth beamed at the thought of seeing the baby the next day and waved goodbye to the doctor as she and Airi walked back inside and down the stairs to the floor of the hospital they were stuck in. Beth led her into the room and moved to prepare the clonazepam when Airi rubbed her back.

"Beth, could you grab me a glass of water? After all those stairs I am worn out," She smiled and grabbed the bottle of medication out of her hands. "I can take care of this. I've done it before."

Beth nodded and walked out of the room to fetch water for her friend and Airianna quickly set to work. She crushed up a few pills of clozapine instead of clonazepam and added some fresh saline solution to it before she collected 75mg of it into a needle. She prayed her switch in the medication would work enough to just maim the man instead of instantly killing him as she slowly added it to his IV.

"Still at it, huh?" She jumped at the voice behind her.

"Hey," She said to Noah as she cleared her throat. "You startled the hell out of me."

"Sorry, must be quieter than I look," He joked as he stood in the doorway of the room.

A sudden beeping from the monitor next to Airi drew both of their eyes as the man in the bed started to thrash around, fully suffering from a severe seizure. The redhead watched in horror as the man started to bleed from her orifices before he jerked to a stop and the machine flatlined. Running from outside the room brought her back into focus as she watched Dawn sprint to the doorway before she froze at the sight of the dead man with only Noah and the pregnant woman in the room.

Beth nearly crashed into the officer as she rushed back to the room as gazed in shock at the dead man on the bed. She moved to her friend's side and grabbed her hand, keeping a close eye on her wide-eyed face as Dawn walked in and shoved a pair of medical scissors into the man's head.

"What did you do to him?" She snapped as she turned to face the redhead.

"I...I…"

"He was fine until the two of you were alone with him," She claimed as she eyed her and Noah. "Something happened. I want you to tell me."

"It was an accident," Noah shot out before Airi could continue with her own bullshit story. "Airianna left to get some gauze. I was mopping. I must have unplugged the ventilator somehow. It only stopped for a minute. I got it working again."

Dawn looked to Airi but she just shrugged her shoulders as she quietly agreed with the boy's tale, "Take him to my office," Dawn ordered one of the cops waiting in the hallway.

She walked out after the boy as Edwards moved from his spot on the wall in the hallway, "Dawn, it was an accident. It was an accident."

"He's got guts," Airi whispered after all the cops had gone. "I was just gonna tell her what happened."

Beth furrowed her brows, "What? Something did happen when you gave him the clonazepam?"

"Clonazepam?" She faked surprise. "I thought you said _clozapine_." She looked to the doctor and he quirked his brow in confusion.

"No, Airi. I said clonazepam," He stepped up to her and placed his hand on her forehead. "You feel a bit flushed. Have you had any water today?"

"She asked me to grab some," Beth stammered. "Oh, you must have gotten them mixed up. I'm so sorry Airi, I should've done it. You must be exhausted from all that movement."

The sound of Noah crying as punches flew echoed through the air and Beth tried to run from the room to help him, but Edwards held her back, "I can stop it! Dawn needs to know it wasn't his fault!"

"Then she'll just dole out punishment to your friend instead. Your _pregnant _friend," Beth froze as he spoke. "We need to deal with Trevitt's body while it's still warm. Let Noah's lie protect her alright?"

The girl nodded and sighed in sadness as she retrieved a gurney. Edwards helped walk Airianna back to her and Beth's room before he walked away to dispose of the body as well. Airi waited until she couldn't hear footsteps outside her door anymore before she stumbled to her bed. She took deep breaths as she tried to lower her heart rate, surprised her measurement had been that off to kill the man so quickly. No, it wasn't a high enough dosage...Unless he was allergic to it.

The door to the room slammed open and she jumped in her stop as Dawn swept into the room and closed the door behind her, "You really think I didn't know? Noah's smart. Probably my best worker. But that story he told about the ventilator?" She shook her head. "The boy's not much of a liar."

The mother narrowed her eyes, "If you knew, then why did you-"

"I didn't want to. I had to," The officer insisted. "A good man's mistakes almost ended everything for us, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let that happen again." Dawn took a step closer to the woman on the bed, "Every sacrifice we make needs to be for the greater good. The second it isn't, the second we lose sight of that, it's all over."

"Good thing I am an adult who understands that concept," Airi said. "No need to treat me like a child."

The other woman sighed as she gave her a condescending look, "The thing is, you're not the greater good. And neither is that girl you keep protecting. Neither of you are strong enough."

"I'm strong, and so is Beth," She snapped as she got up from her bed. "More than you will ever understand."

"How many people had to risk their lives to save you and her?" Dawn wondered. "And what about those scars on her wrist? In here, you are part of a system. The wards keep my officers happy. The happier my officers are, the harder they work to keep us going."

Airianna scoffed, "So instead you promote raping women? Treating injured people like objects? How long until men like Gorman see you like one?" She stepped up to Dawn so they stood eye-to-eye. "Or does he already think of you like that?"

"This hasn't been easy," Dawn defended. "There have been compromises that I don't agree with, but they needed to happen. And it's working. And after they rescue us, we're gonna help put the world back together. Because we're the ones holding on. That's the good we're doing here."

Airi moved away from Dawn as she started to laugh, "You are dumber than I thought if you still think you are being rescued. There is no one out there to do it. The old world is gone. The army, the government, all of it. Just people like you living in debasement and denial are all that's left." Dawn's hand swung out and harshly landed across Airi's face, jerking it to the side. She snarled and curled up her fist, flinging it back at the cop as her hit knocked her to the ground, "If you ever touch me, or let anybody in this place touch Beth every again, I will kill you. And don't let me being pregnant make you think I am some helpless piece of shit you need to pick up. I will kill you and anyone else that gets in my way."

She grabbed the leader by her arm, opened the door to see another female cop standing outside, and shoved Dawn into her arms before she slammed the door in their faces. She huffed as she slid to the floor against the wall, trying to recover her breath. She heard a light knock on the door and she groaned as she got up from the ground and opened the door, smiling when she caught Noah's concerned face.

"Hey, how are you-"

"I need your help with something," He whispered. She nodded her head and followed him from the room, "Beth said you two wanted to get out of here. We're planning something right now."

She scooted closer to him as they passed another ward in the hall, "What are we doing?"

"Going down the elevator shaft," He mumbled. "Beth's getting the spare key. She's small and moves fast. I need you to stay by the hall the locked door is in to keep it clear."

"Alright," She quickly slipped her hand into a closet and pulled out a mop and bucket. "Inconspicuous, yes?"

Noah beamed at her, "That will work great. I'll keep an eye on Beth and we'll meet you there. Whistle if the coast is clear."

Airi shuffled down the hall as she pushed the mop along, keeping her head down as she passed some of the cops wandering past her. She planted herself right at the end of the empty hall by the double doors and calmly started to sweep the floors with the wet mop, moving in small circle eights as she watched the hall for any other people.

"Joan was looking for you," Airi craned her head up as she heard Beth's voice in the other hall. "I saw her and Gorman heading towards your office."

"Thank you," Dawn replied.

Airi waited until the footsteps receded before she started to lightly whistle and smirked as Beth and Noah ran around the corner with a handful of sheets stuffed in the boy's hand. The trio shared small nods as Beth shakily unlocked the doors and they slipped into the sequestered hallway, ignoring the sudden shout that sounded elsewhere in the hospital. Airi peered down the shaft as Beth shinned a small flashlight down it while Noah tied the sheets to one of the metal pipes running on the wall.

"Ready?" Both women nodded and Noah started to wrap the sheets around Beth in a makeshift harness, "Once you're safe, I'll climb down."

Airi wrapped Beth in a tight hug before she let the girl be lowered into the shaft. She watched nervously as Noah slackened the rope lightly and ran over to help him hold it as a large section of sheets rushed past his hands. She caught it along with him and cringed when she heard Beth hit the side of the wall. They lowered her a little bit more and relaxed when she called up to them. Noah motioned for Airianna to head down next and she gulped as she gripped the rope tightly to start her own descent. She kept her feet on the wall as she half rolled down the rope, half walked down the drop, attempting to keep her body from jerking around. She sighed in relief as she felt Beth's hands on her back and she let the sheet rope go when her feet touched the mangled metal at the bottom of the drop.

She waved up to Noah and he started his trek to the bottom, using his arms mainly to lower himself down. Both women gasped as a walker thrust its hand out of one of the half-open doors on one of the lower floors, and Airi slapped her hand over Beth's mouth and Noah let go of the rope and fell into the pit of dead bodies at the very bottom.

Beth crouched on the landing as she gazed the few feet down where the boy laid, "Noah? Noah? Noah?"

She jumped down to help him, and the redhead gasped and tossed the remainder of the rope to the ground so she could shimmy down and join them. She grimaced as she landed lightly on the bodies and watched as Beth helped Noah to his feet, "Can you walk?"

He groaned but nodded as the pregnant woman scrambled to grab the fallen flashlight before it was lost, "Yeah, I'm okay."

Beth passed a pair of scissors into Airi's hands and she grinned at the girl as she tightened her grip around the small weapon. The blonde pulled out a gun and Airi eyed her with surprise as she passed the flashlight in her spare hand into Noah's empty ones. Noah nodded and they started to shuffle out of the shaft quietly while he led the way. He pointed to a hallway where the snarling of walkers echoed out of but a decaying arm shot out past a group of piping and latched onto Noah's outstretched arm. Beth shot at the thing, hitting its head but drawing the rest and the group scrambled to reach the hall leading to the exit before more walkers swarmed them. Beth laid cover fire while Airi shoved the door open, ushering the teenagers out. Beth started to make a run for the gate while Airi hung back to help quicken Noah's injured limping and she glanced up as Beth fired on more walkers approaching.

The mother ran ahead to help her close friend against the walkers, showing the sharp metal in her hands through the eye of a corpse lumbering up behind Beth. She pulled the gun from her hand as Noah ran ahead of them to help and motioned for her to go after him. They swapped weapons and Airi landed multiple headshots as she watched to pair run ahead of her. She gasped and stepped back as more walkers appeared and started to surround her, but yelled at the teens to keep going when she noticed they had reached the fence.

Beth turned to run back to her side, but Noah grabbed her arm and pulled her through the gap in the fence when he saw the officers running up behind Airi, shooting down the walkers coming towards her. The teenage girl screamed as her dear friend was grabbed by one of the cops and pulled back towards the hospital, but she locked eyes with Airi and cried at the determined look on her face.

"Run! Run Beth! Get out of here!"

Airi watched proudly as the Greene girl cried, but followed after Noah as she made her escape. Not even the cop cussing in her ear as she was dragged back inside the hospital dampened her spirits. She kept the smirk on her face as she was dragged by Edwards and Dawn into the woman's office, where she oddly eyed the dark bloodstain against her carpet along with the bodies of Gorman and Joan.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Dawn hissed as she walked in and sent the other cops out of her private room.

"Looks to me like he attacked someone like he attacked Joan," She glanced up at the put-together woman. "Just like you let him. You know what's going on here and you let it happen."

"So that we make it," Dawn snapped.

Airi glared at her, "I already told you that no one's coming. How hard is it to get that through your thick head? We're all gonna die and you let this happen for nothing."

The leader glanced down forlorn and Airi followed her gaze to a picture of her shaking hands with an older officer, she figured he must have been Hanson. Dawn stayed silent before she slammed her hand against the pregnant woman's face and shoved her into the wall.

"This does not happen for nothing, but you need to learn your damn place in this," She stormed over to her door and flung it open. "O'Donnell!" A tall man walked up to the doorway, "Take Airianna here and teach her why we let everything work the way it does."

The man smirked as he descended upon the pregnant woman and dragged her from the room. Dawn huffed as she watched the woman leave, but closed the door behind her, blocking out the punishment she will receive.

Edwards rushed down the hall after he slipped past Lamson and Shepard blocking the way. He slammed open Dawn's door and cringed at the sight of Gorman and Joan being covered with a sheet as Dawn watched from the corner of her room.

"Where is she?"

Dawn turned to glance at the doctor, "At least the ass is dead, should've thanked Beth for doing that before she and Noah got away."

Edwards walked up to her and grabbed her tightly by her arm, "Where _is_ she?"

The leader squeezed out of his grip but sighed, "I asked O'Donnell to explain to her the repercussions of her actions. She got two people killed."

The doctor paled, "You sent a pregnant woman to O'Donnell?"

"Oh please," She brushed him off. "Gorman was the bad seed, O'Donnell will just rough her up, scare her a bit."

He sneered at Dawn but swept from the room to track his fellow doctor down. He knew she and Beth were desperate to leave, but the stunt they pulled was beyond anything he thought they would try. He reached O'Dnnell's room and turned the lock, tensing when it didn't budge. He tried again when he heard grunting and something slamming against the wall before he stepped back and kicked the door open.

He gasped at the sight of Airianna sobbing on the floor as she covered her stomach with her hands, her face and arms beaten to shreds by the steel toe boots the cop standing over her wore. O'Donnell stepped back lightly with his hands jokingly held up in the air as the doctor rushed past him to the woman's side, jerking back as she curled in on herself more as he approached.

"Just wanted to see if that kid of hers would slip right out if I gave it a little nudge," The cop chuckled. "Thought Dawn would appreciate it after what she did to Gorman. An eye for an eye."

The doctor sneered at the man as he turned back to the mother, gently tucking his arms under her body before he lifted her. She pushed on his chest and he set her on her feet, keeping his arm around her back to lead her from the room. Airi stumbled a bit but tried to walk as straight as possible to his office sighing as he helped her into one of the chairs. He grabbed some equipment and started to clean the cuts on her arms and forehead, carefully stitching the wound near her hairline.

"I'm sorry this happened," He whispered as he knotted the last stitch. "I don't know what Dawn was thinking."

"I pissed her off," She muttered. "But she's crossed a line."

"O'Donnell was the one that attacked you."

"But Dawn sent him after me," She reminded Edwards. "She knew what he was capable of but did it anyway because she was mad. A good leader never lets their group members get hurt. They're family."

Steven sighed, "None of us are family, just people surviving together."

Airi huffed but slowly stood to her feet, "Then I'm glad I got Beth and Noah out of this prison. Cause they'll find my family and get me out."

"Hey, hey," He caught her arm as she tried to limp from the room. "Gotta check on your baby, make sure everything's fine."

She sighed but allowed him to grab an ultrasound to check her over. She sat and waited as he hooked up the machine and ran the handle over her stomach lightly. Airi let a soft smile grow on her face as she heard a quiet heartbeat through the monitor, but looked up at the screen as she heard another sound overlapping the faint heart pumping. Edwards moved the handle to get another angel and the two doctors looked in surprise as another baby appeared on the screen, tucked behind its sibling.

"Twins, I'm having twins," The redhead whispered as she teared up at the sight of her two babies sitting next to each other.

Steven gave her a small smile as he turned off the machine, "They both seem healthy. Glad they are both fine after your ordeal. You should go get some rest, I'll check on you again in the morning."

Airianna sped from the room to avoid any unwanted attention, hoping to catch some hours of sleep before she had to deal with more of this place's corruption. She let the thought of Beth and Noah finding Daryl and the others drift her off to sleep. Hoping Eren and Sophia would be ecstatic to see her again.

"You're healing quickly," Edwards said as he checked her over in the morning. "Should be ready to jump back into it in a couple of days. You shouldn't do anything else to upset the order around here."

The pregnant woman snorted, "Be easier for you I'm sure."

"Just get it through your head," He pressed. "You have no leverage, not anymore."

He rose from his spot in front of her and walked from the room. She eyed the letter-opener lying on his desk as she pondered his words. He was correct on the no leverage point. None of the assholes here would want to believe the woman stirring up so much trouble would actually be valuable to them now. Or if she let out that she was a doctor then they would never let her leave, even if her group did come to help. She scooped up the small object and tucked it into the waistband of her pants as she walked out of the room. She walked as calmly as possible over to wear Edwards was standing in a doorway, hoping she could maybe use his status as the only doctor to ensure her own escape when two cops burst through the door with a new patient on one of the gurneys.

Her eyes widened as she took in the sight of Sophia lying unconscious on the gurney as she was taken into an empty room.

Now her escape plan was gone.


	39. Chapter 39

Sophia had no idea how she got into this mess. She and Merle saved the group from Terminus, they found a church with an odd priest, and now she and the Dixon brothers were tearing after a car that supposedly took Airianna and Beth. They insisted she go back to the church but she told Merle to stuff it as she hopped in the back of the car. Sure she felt bad for leaving the group behind, but it was to find Airianna, to find Beth. The thirteen-year-old knew at least Maggie and Glenn would understand.

"Where the hell are these assholes goin'?" Merle grumbled as he sat in the passenger seat.

"Headin' North," Daryl replied as he continued in the darkness.

Sophia glanced out the window, "So it was just you and Beth after?"

"Yeah."

"Did you save her?" She asked.

Daryl shook his head, "She's tough. She saved herself. We were out there for a while. We got cornered, she got out in front of me and…I don't know. She was gone. Came out and a car was pulling away with a white cross on the window."

"Just like that one?" He shrugged his shoulders in agreement.

"Then Airi and I ran into her," Merle picked up. "Knocked out in the back of a car driven by some assholes in cop uniforms. Airi tried to get her out but they snatched her up while one pinned me down with gunfire. I went after them when they drove away but only got so fuckin' far."

The teenager shuffled in her seat, "Rick's gonna wonder where we went."

Daryl sighed, "Tank's runnin' low."

"Just end this quick," Merle suggested. "Run them off the damn road."

"Nah, we're good for a bit," His brother argued.

"Can find out where they at if we get our hands on the driver," The older Dixon pointed out.

"If he don't talk then we're back to square one," The younger brother hissed. "Right now we got the advantage. We'll see who they are. If they're a group, see what they can do."

"Daryl's right," Sophia grumbled. "We have to see where they're going at least. Then we do what we have to to get them back."

"If they keep goin' on I-85 then we gonna hit a shit storm real quick," Merle grunted as they continued to tail the car.

"Why's that?" Sophia asked.

Merle gestured to the front window and she leaned forward to peer through the darkness. The blonde frowned when the outlines of skyscrapers came into view in a distance and she looked to her left to catch a gridlock of cars, they were heading back into Atlanta. She sat back in her seat as they followed the car to the outskirts of the city, parking next to an apartment building while the black car stopped further up the street.

The trio watched as the car stayed in the middle of the street, "What the hell's he waitin' for?" The car turned itself off and Daryl did the same as they watched a man get out of the passenger seat. "There's two of them...Is that a cop?"

"Asshats got the whole blue get-up," Merle confirmed. "Always hated them pigs."

The man walked down a side street out of the trio view and they relaxed as he completely missed them spying. A loud crash on the side of the car startled Sophia but she groaned as she noticed the walker now clawing at the side of the car. She tried to ignore the creature as the cop came back around to his car with something in his arms. He dropped it to the ground and wiped his hands on his pants before he hopped back into his ride. The car started up again and they took off further into the city. Daryl turned the key in the ignition, and the car sputtered but refused to start.

"Ah, shit! Tank's tapped," He hit the steering wheel in frustration. "They'd have taken the bypass and they didn't. So they must be holed up in the city somewhere."

Growling from up ahead of the car caught the three's ears and Merle shifted in his seat, "Gotta move, find someplace to hole up till sunlight."

Sophia looked around the street and honed in on the bent over street sign, "I may know a place a few blocks from here."

"What place does a thirteen-year-old know about in Atlanta?" Merle huffed.

Sophia rolled her eyes and lowered her window slightly to stab the walker clawing at her door, "Just come on, Merle. We gotta move."

She pushed out of the car and led the two men quickly back a few blocks and down a small alley with a few walked ambling about. Merle and Daryl dispatched of them while she rushed down the alley and jiggled with a lock on a wooden fence. Merle brushed her aside and quickly picked the lock before he pushed her and Daryl through. They slipped into the back of an office building and Sophia led them up a flight of stairs to a small business tucked into the building, cracking open the door to find a destroyed but empty office.

"Great, ya found us a good office space? Ya daddy used to work here?" Daryl rammed his brother in the ribs as Sophia started to shove a large storage cabinet away from the wall to reveal a hidden door. She gave Merle an 'I told you so' look before she opened the door to a hidden hallway.

"What is this place?" Daryl asked as they snuck into the hall.

"Temporary housing I think," The three walked down the small hallway with a few frosted doors until they came to an open room with a bunk bed with pink and blue sheets on it tucked into the corner, "My mom brought me here once...We didn't stay long."

Merle slumped his shoulders as he glanced around the room, "Ah shit, sorry kid," He looked down at the small untouched desk and noticed a book titled _Treating Survivors of Childhood Abuse_. Merle picked up the book and leafed through it while Sophia and Daryl looked more around the room.

"I'll take the top bunk, Daryl," The blonde stated as she tossed her bow up on the blue sheets. "I think that one's more your style." Daryl chuckled as she pointed to the hot pink sheets.

"Y'all should sleep," Merle said as he dropped the book back on the table. "I got first watch."

"This place is locked up pretty tight," His brother noted.

"I know, Darylina."

The hunter rolled his eyes, "Then we're good then."

"I'm takin' first watch, baby brother," He grumbled as he sat on the window ledge.

Daryl shrugged as he helped Sophia up onto the top bunk, "Suit yourself."

The brothers settled into a tense silence as the girl slowly fell asleep, Daryl turning over in his bed to avoid the glances his brother kept sending him, "Ya need somethin', Merle?"

"Airi did right by ya, back then," The older man whispered. "I was just screwin' ya life more. I see that now."

"So what?" Daryl wondered.

The one-armed man sighed, "Y'all don't need ol' Merle messin' shit up."

"Ya not messin' shit, Merle," Daril insisted. "Save our asses more than once. Just like to self-sabotage yourself."

Merle snorted, "Now that's a four-dollar word, baby brother."

"Back by the car," Daryl started. "If Sophia and I didn't show. What would you done?"

He shrugged, "Still don't know."

"I'm serious Merle. We all-"

A thumping interrupted Daryl's words and the two men jumped to their feet, keeping their knives raised as they moved through the hall. They both paused as they noticed a silhouette on one of the frosted doors, but froze as a small form hit the glass next to the adult walker. Merle sighed at the sight and moved to open the door when Daryl grabbed his hand.

"Ya don't have to," He said. "Ya don't."

Merle shoved his brother's hand off and wandered back to the room Sophia was nestled in, collapsing on the bed his brother was laying on earlier. Sunlight woke him and Sophia and they both rolled from the beds when they heard the sound of a fire crackling somewhere. The pair followed the sound to an outdoor courtyard and watched as Daryl gently tossed the bodies on the walkers he and Merle found last night into the flames. Merle walked outside and clasped a hand on his brother's shoulder and the two watched the flames grow together.

They wandered back inside to where Sophia was packing up their bags, trying to give the brothers their privacy, "That car was deadin' downtown. I say we get up in one of the tall ones, get ourselves a view. See what we see."

"Smart," Merle commented. "Stay close to the buildings and keep our traps shut, but sooner or later, we gonna be drawin' them in."

"Then we'll just be fast," The blonde offered as she tossed each of the men their own bags.

They gathered up the rest of their supplies and took off into the streets, passing by the run-down remains of the military and civilians trying to escape. They stopped on the corner of one of the parking garages leading to a skyscraper and Daryl peeked around the corner, eyeing the swarm of walkers stumbling around outside it.

"Alright, we can get up there," He whispered back. "There's a bridge."

He pulled out a notepad from his bag and lit it on fire, tossing it out into the street to draw the walkers' attention. The creatures lumbered to the light on the road and the three humans snuck past them into the garage, Daryl shooting the single walker still shuffling around by the gate. They ran up the inclines until they reached the door leading to the sky bridge slipping inside, missing the shadow behind them sneaking closer. They walked through the bridge until they came across a walkerfied camp on the other side, the corpses stuck in their sleeping bags and the two tents set up in the space. They quickly took out the ones rolling around in the sleeping bags, and Daryl started to check them for weapons.

"Somedays I don't know what the hell to think," He mumbled as his search came up empty.

The trio snuck passed the three tents stuffed with walkers and slipped through the chained door into the office building. They each slipped off their bags and guns to crawl through the gap, "Good thing we skipped breakfast," Sophia jested as she tossed her bow to Merle on the inside.

Merle led the way through the building until he came across an untouched office with large windows, signaling for Daryl and Sophia to follow. The three looked out the window and Sophia lifted her gun to check through the scope.

"You know," She whispered. "Neither of you asked what happened with me and Tyreese."

"Saw ya get out with him and a few others," Daryl muttered. "They ain't here."

The teen sighed, "It's worse than just that."

"Don't matter much," Merle said as he kept his eyes peeled to the window. "You made it and they didn't, 'nough said. You did what ya had to do."

"Yeah…" Daryl pressed closer to the window, distracting the girl. "You see something?"

He motioned for her gun and she passed it over. He glanced through the scope, "Right there," He said as he passed the gun back. "On the highway. There's a van with that symbol."

"Definitely some kind of lead," The one-armed man replied. "Should grab some water and head out."

"Okay," Sophia wandered over to the water cooler and started to refill their canteens. Darl and Merle glanced around the room for any extra supplies and the hunter's gaze was drawn to an abstract painting on the wall. "What?"

"I bet this cost come rich prick a lot of money," He theorized. "Looks like a dog sat in paint, wiped its ass all over the place."

Sophia giggled at his idea, "Really? I kinda like it."

Daryl eyed the girl oddly before he chuckled, "Stop."

"Ya both like the Brady Bunch over there," Merle laughed. "And it does look like some hot shit."

The three group members wrapped up their laughing and headed back the way they came, allowing Sophia to crawl through first. The girl tossed her gun and her bow through the crack before she slipped through, but tensed as she stood to meet her own gun in her face.

Daryl started to crawl through as well after he tossed his crossbow, but Sophia called out, "Daryl, don't!"

"Get up!" Daryl glared at the African American guy holding a gun to the girl's head. "Hands up, all of you!"

"The fuck's goin' on?"

"Get out!" The boy yelled through the door. "Right now!"

"He's got Sophia," Daryl hissed when he noticed his brother refuse to move. The larger man quickly squeezed through the gap and glared at the boy holding the blonde hostage.

"Lay down your weapons," Daryl dropped his crossbow reluctantly and his brother tossed his gun to the ground.

"You got some sack on you."

"Look, nobody has to get hurt," The boy argued. "I just need weapons, that's it. So back up." The two men moved back until they were up against the door, watching closely as the boy had Sophia grab the weapons for him before she pushed her over to the men.

"Sorry about this," The boy sliced open one of the tents between him and the trio and took off, leaving them behind.

Daryl shoved Sophia behind him as Merle went to town on the walkers with his prosthetic arm. Daryl whipped out his hunting knife and helped his brother with the monsters, huffing as the last one dropped to the ground. The three ran after the guy, but he had barricaded the door behind him. The three sighed and turned back to head through the office building to reach the ground floor. They found a stairwell and broke down the door to get out of the building.

They snuck their way through the city until they reached the highway bridge with the van half hanging over the side, "Shoulda gutted that prick."

"Nothing we can do now, Merle," Sophia muttered as they reached the car. "Besides he looked about Beth's age."

"He was steelin' our weapons," He argued.

"Fia's right," Daryl grumbled as he ripped the back doors of the vehicle open. "Nothin' we can do now except try to find these assholes. Let's get this done."

He glanced inside the car and was about to crawl in when the blonde shook her head, "It's not stable. I'm the lightest."

Daryl shot the girl a 'hell no' look and hopped into the back. She sighed but watched him crawl into the driver's seat before she slipped into the back as well. Merle stood outside the van as Daryl rummaged through the glove box, looking through the random papers.

"There's walkers on the way," Merle called out as he noticed more of the dead bodies shuffling over.

Sophia looked out the window, "We'll have to fight our way through."

Daryl moved to crawl out when he eyed a gurney on the side of the van. He flipped it over and read the engraving on the bottom of it, "GMH, is that a hospital?"

"Grady Memorial, maybe?" His brother called out. "I don't know."

"Grady, the white crosses...It might be where they're holding up," Daryl said as he and Sophia hopped out of the car. The three started to attack the onslaught of walkers coming at them, but Daryl picked Sophia up and climbed back into the van as he noticed they were trapped, "Get in here Merle!"

The older Dixon hesitated before he scrambled in and closed the back doors behind him, "What now baby brother?"

The father crawled into the driver's seat and motioned for his brother and the teen to join him, "Buckle up. We're takin' the fast way down."

"Are you fuckin' nuts?" Merle snapped.

"Just get in the damn seat!"

The one-armed man grumbled but sat down, shoved Sophia in his lap, and tossed the seat belt over both of them. Sophia tried to steady her breathing as the walkers rocked the car further over the edge of the bridge, tightly grabbing Daryl's hand bracing on the dash. Merle's hand joined the pile as he used his prosthetic to brace the side of the van and the three of them nodded.

"You hold on, Sophia," The hunter whispered.

She tearily nodded as the car fell over the edge and crashed to the ground. The airbags went off as they collided with the earth and shoved the three back in the seats. Sophia groaned in pain as the landing rocked her body and the airbag sent her own skull crashing into Merle's. She cringed as she felt blood on the back of her head and turned around to see Merle's nose bent the wrong way with blood leaking out of it.

"We're okay," Daryl breathed as he looked at Sophia and Merle. "We're okay."

Merle grunted, "Girlie broke my damn nose."

"Sorry."

The three jumped as a body smashed into the front window from on top of the bridge and waited as they heard walkers falling all around the car. Once the noise outside had stopped Sophia cracked the door open and crawled off of Merel and out onto the ground. She gasped in pain as she grabbed her backpack and waited for the brothers to join her. Merle clambered out of the car and rubbed the blood of his face while Daryl walked around the car to wrap an arm around the little girl's body. The three painfully started to walk back with Merle appearing the least hurt out of all of them, besides his face. Sophia figured she shielded him from most of the shit, how ironic.

They got back into the city and crawled behind a fenced-in garage. Daryl set the girl down and tossed her one of the water bottles, waiting until she started to sip out of it to pass another to Merle. The older Dixon chugged his water as he watched Daryl sit down next to the teenager and pull her into a tight hug.

"How bad is it?" He asked the girl.

She shrugged, "I've had worse. Definitely did worse to your face."

He chuckled, "Got a hard noggin there."

"That was stupid," The hunter grunted as he looked over the scrapes on the girl's body.

"We made good time down," She lightly commented. "There's three blocks between here and Grady."

"Need to find a place nearby," Merle said as he glanced around. "Scope the place out. See what we can see."

"Good place to start," Hos brother agreed. "Come on."

Daryl helped Sophia to her feet and the trio carefully moved along at a slower pace than before, still shaken from the crash. They ducked into another parking garage near the hospital and made their way up the building, but Merle paused them from continuing up when he noticed a walker with fresh blood on it. He motioned to follow the fresh trail and the three moved along the floor, seeing more and more dead walkers as they went. Sophia heard snarling and watched as Daryl picked up a machete off of one of the still-living corpses. She glanced out the window and tapped Merle on the shoulder.

"It's them."

He and Daryl looked out the window to see Grady Memorial in the distance, "Alright, let's see what we see," The father muttered as he tossed a bag of chips at the girl.

The three watched the hospital as they ate but stopped when they heard a scream in the distance. Sophia stumbled to her feet as she rushed off after the sound, reaching for her bow but groaning as she realized the weapon was missing. She pulled out her knife as Darl and Merle caught up to her and they followed the noise to a walker pinned to the wall by one of Daryl's crossbow bolts.

"Is that yours?" Sophia asked.

Daryl nodded and stabbed the walker before he pulled his bolt out. More gunfire went off ahead of them and the three ran towards the noise, seeing the boy from before fighting with a walker before he ran off further down the hall. The walker fell towards the blonde, but Merle slammed it into the wall before it could hurt the girl and jammed his knife through its skull. He nodded to the teen and they continued to follow the boy's trail. There was a crash ahead of them and the boy cried out.

"Noah!"

Sophia tensed at the soft southern voice and ran past Daryl and Merle to see the boy pinned under and bookshelf and Beth next to it trying to free him.

"Beth!?"

The older blonde turned in shock, "Sophia?"

The boy glanced up to see the girl he met earlier and the two men behind her, "Wait you know her?"

"Beth!" Daryl called out when he noticed her next to the trapped boy. "Get away from him, he stole from us!"

"You took these weapons from them?!" She snapped at the boy, Noah.

"I didn't know you knew them!" He cried as the shelf shifted more into his leg. "Can somebody help me please?"

"Hell Nah, pretty boy," Merle hissed as he scooped up their weapons from the ground. "We're takin' our friend and gettin' out."

Beth shook her head as she tried to move the shelf by herself, "I ain't leaving him, Merle Dixon."

"We got bigger problems, Beth," Daryl snapped as he tried to pull the girl away from him.

"Please," Noah begged. "I promised...We promised to help Airianna. I can't-"

"You know Airi?" Sophia asked as she stepped closer to the boy.

"Noah helped us escape," Beth explained as she tried to budge the shelf. "But Airi got caught. She's still there. We can't leave her."

Daryl huffed as he moved to help Beth lift the shelf and Merle quickly grabbed the boy by his shirt and pulled him out from under it before his brother and the Green girl dropped the large piece of wood back to the floor, "We ain't leavin' my wife behind Beth."

Beh smiled as she helped Noah stand to his feet, "Knew you'd come looking for us."

Airi's husband shrugged his shoulders as he eyed the boy warily, "So who are you?"

"Name's Noah," He introduced. "Sorry for stealing from you. But we have to go. The people at Grady are looking for us and all the gunfire will draw them here."

"You were the one poppin' off," Merle reminded him.

"We did scare the hell out of him," Sophia pointed out. "I'm Sophia. Airi's husband is Daryl and that's his brother, Merle."

Noah nodded at each of the newcomers before he motioned to the door that was previously blocked by the shelf, "Leads to the front lobby, might be the fastest way out."

Sophia and Beth peered out the window and tensed as they saw a car with a cross drive by, "They're coming."

"We gotta go now," Noah said as he swung the door open. "We gotta go, come on." Daryl and Merle hesitated but followed after the boy when Sophia and Beth went running after him. The five of them sprinted down the stairs until they reached the bottom. "The building next door has a basement. Beth and I cleared it. We'll be safe."

Noah fell to the floor in pain as his leg throbbed and Beth ran back to help him. Sophia paused as Merle and Beth were helping him to his feet as Daryl scooped up his supplies, "Go, we got him."

Sophia nodded and ran across the lobby of the building pushing the glass door open to check the courtyard for the rest of the group. As she was stepping into the area the car from before sped into the courtyard and hit her head on, sending her to the ground unconscious. Daryl dropped the bags he had and tried to sprint towards the little girl, but Noah slipped out of Merle's grip and hauled him back.

"Get the fuck off of me!" He snarled. "That's my damn kid!"

"Wait! Wait! They can help her!" Noah yelled as he pulled the man back, watching as two cops got out of the car and place the girl on a stretcher they had. "They're the only ones who can. They have medicine, machines, a doctor."

"That my kid!"

"Daryl!" Beth cried as she and Merle moved to drag him back as well. "Airi's there. If you go out there we have to kill them and then she can't get help from Airi."

"We can get her back," Merle whispered as he glared at the men taking Sophia away. "We can get Airi back too."

"What's it gonna take?" Daryl whimpered as he watched them speed away with his little girl in the back of their car.

"A lot," Noah panted. "They got guns, people."

Beth grabbed both of the men's shoulders, "So do we."

"Country girl here's right," Merle said. "We gotta get back to Rick."


	40. Chapter 40

Airianna kept her distance after Sophia had been brought in and Edwards tended to her. He was probably the only one that noticed how shocked she was at the girl's arrival and from the look he gave her as he assessed her injuries, he didn't want her to get too close. But Sophia and her were already closer than he could ever understand. So here she was, mopping the floor outside of her room just to keep an eye on the thirteen-year-old. Hoping she would wake up.

The cops that brought her in said they found her on the side of the road, but from her crack pelvis, fresh cuts, and possible internal bleeding she guessed one of those assholes hit her little girl with their car. And since O'Donnell was the one driving it wouldn't surprise her at all. He probably didn't even notice it was a kid he was hitting. Or maybe he did and just didn't care. But now Sophia was on oxygen tanks since Edwards had no idea how bad her internal bleeding was, if she could even breathe on her own, and she had heard whispers of Dawn cutting the resources on her even though it had barely been a day since she was brought in.

"Excuse me," Airi turned as Edwards scooted by her. "I'm just checking on her."

She gave the girl a forlorn glance before she shuffled away to finish the mopping, hoping she could swing back one more time without looking suspicious to anyone. Her mopping had gotten her all the way down the hall to one of the storage rooms where she heard Dawn and O'Donnell speaking together.

"That's your plan, huh?" The female officer wondered.

O'Donnell sighed, "Look we are going everything we can. Licari is out in the sedan right now," He rubbed his forehead. "If there are any signs of Noah and Beth, we are going to find them."

Airi smirked as Dawn cut him off, "You just told me that your plan was counting on them screwing up. That's some active police work right there." She paused. "Was there anything else?"

"Yes, actually, there was," He said as she heard him shift his feet. "The patient in exam room two, she was half dead when I brought her in. She's not looking so good. This ain't Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Are we really gonna keep wasting valuable resources on this girl?"

"How much electricity does your DVD take?" Airianna asked as she spun around.

"Excuse me?"

"We have very limited resources here," She repeated his own words back at him. "You charge it every day."

The man scoffed as he glared down at the pregnant woman, "Are you kidding me?"

"Airianna," Dawn scolded her like a teacher at school.

"That _little girl_ has been here one day," Airi argued.

"Airianna."

She ignored Dawn's pressing, "What good is this place if it doesn't try to save people?"

"Turn off the machines," She tensed at the leader's words. "Tell Edwards to take the patient off of his rounds. If she pulls through on her own, then fine. But you're right, O'Donnell. She's not worth the effort." The man smirked as he walked away from the two women, slamming the back door shut behind him. "You just killed that girl. Who do you think I have to side with?"

"Tell him you changed your mind," Airi suggested. "A good leader isn't swayed by everyone's opinions. You are so scared of everyone else here that they know they can walk all over you. Stand your damn ground."

"You don't know how fragile this thing is," Dawn softly said. "There's nothing I can do. So you'll just have to do it." Airianna watched as passed her a small key, "This is to the drug locker. I don't even trust Edwards with this. So take it."

Airianna grasped the key and slipped it into her bra to hide it as Dawn's radio went off, "It's Shepard. I'm on roof detail. Just heard a gunshot maybe a mile north-northeast."

Dawn clicked her radio, "Grab Lamson, take a car and track it down."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Why are you letting me help her?" Airianna wondered as she eyed the other woman.

"I thought you were weak," Dawn admitted. "You've proved me wrong."

She waited until Dawn left the room before she swept up the mop and bucket and rushed to finish her cleaning. When she put the cleaning supplies away she walked to Sophia's room and watched as Edwards turned off her vitals machine and the oxygen tanks. He gave her a sad expression as he walked past her to head back to his office. She glanced into the hallway before she quietly shut the door and walked up to the teenager's side, grabbing a lone stethoscope sitting on the counter by the bed. She slipped on the medical tool and listened to Sophia's chest, relaxing as she heard her lungs moving at a normal pace but frowning once more as she heard her heart pumping slightly slower than normal.

Airi pulled the stethoscope off as she theorized what meds would be the best and quickest to grab. She guessed epinephrine could be the best thing to grab in this position. Would lower her blood pressure and help her body kick start the immune system to repair the internal injuries. A bit of antibiotics would be useful as well to fight off infection, penicillin would do just fine. With her medical grocery list engrained in her, stepped back to leave the room, but paused and turned back to Sophia's prone form.

"I'm going to get you some meds, Sophia," She mumbled into the girl's hair as she kissed her forehead. "You hold on and keep fighting."

She walked to the door and tensed when she opened it to reveal Edwards leaning against the wall outside. She gave him a weak smile as she tried to walk down the hall as innocently as possible.

"Hey," She turned her head back towards the doctor. "Good luck."

Airianna walked further down the hall to where the wards' bedrooms were, stopping in front of the doorway of Shepard's ward, George. George was a reasonably old man the cops had come across one day traveling with his granddaughter, Casey. They had been attacked by a group and the cops that found them claimed Casey had been too injured to save. So he was now alone in this world. She figured he would be the one more likely to help her than the rest of the wards, so here she was. It also helped that his room was the closest to the hallway with the medicine cabinet.

"Hello George," He eyed her oddly as she walked into his room and closed the door behind her. "I need your help with something."

"Not sure what you would need from me," He stuttered as he looked around the room to avoid her gaze.

"I'll compensate you, give you some of the extra food they give me," He glanced up at her offer.

"What would my help be needed for?" He asked.

"Tha girl, in room two. She's my daughter," George finally looked up and met her eyes. "O'Donnell convinced Dawn to give up on her, but I can't. So I just need a distraction from you. Just something to catch people's attention."

"Case...My granddaughter...She had asthma," He whispered. "I know what an attack looks like, make it pretty believable. Would that help?"

"Yes," She smiled as she grabbed his hand. "I need you to go for as long as you can, alright?"

He glanced back to the ground, "Just as long as you give me the food first, something fresh."

"You got it," She nodded at George and swept from the room, on her way to the cafeteria.

The two wards that normally work there were absent and Airianna had no trouble scooping up a handful of strawberries from the private section the officers got to eat from. She gently held them in her hand as she calmly walked through the halls. She noticed George standing outside of his room and inched closer to him to slip the berries into his hand. He eyed the fruit in surprise but nodded his head, waiting for Airianna to walk away before he started to cough and fall to the floor.

Multiple cops and wards ran in his direction and Airianna waited till they passed her to duck into the corner with the medicine cabinet, quickly pulling the key out and unlocking it. She eyed each bottle of medication and swiped one of the many bottles of penicillin before she scanned for the epinephrine. George started to cough and wheeze louder when O'Donnell appeared and Airi scrambled to find the bottle she desperately needed, snagging the only vial she saw of it off the shelf and locking it back up before anyone noticed her over there. She tucked the two small bottles into her pocket and hid the key on her body once more as she kept a lookout. When the female doctor was sure she was safe she got up and walked by the collapse George, the man suddenly recovering as she passed him by.

Airianna made her way back into Sophia's room and grabbed an IV to attach to her, expertly slipping the needle into a vein before she added 5mg each of the two medications. She smiled as the meds mixed with the saline solution as it slowly made its way into the blonde's body.

The redhead sat by her girl's side as she lightly grabbed her hand, "Sophia? I'm back, like I promised. I'm right here," She sniffled. "I'm having twins. It's a surprise, I know. But it's a good one. We all need a little bit of hope right now."

The mother rubbed her stomach and lifted the girls' to placed her limp and on it as well. One of the babies kicked into Sophia's hand and Airi smiled at the sensation as if they knew their big sister was there. She stood up from the bed and walked out of the room, heading to Dawn's office to return the borrowed key and to hide the meds in one of her drawers. The doctor figured no one would be suspicious of Dawn having access to medication since she had the key.

She tensed when she reached the door, seeing Dawn inside on her exercise bike. But the cop just waved her into the room. She motioned to her desk and the pregnant woman tossed the key and extra meds into the top drawer before she started to fold a few of Dawn's shirts sitting on the table.

"Shepard, Lamson, what's your 20?" Dawn called into her radio. "I need status on that gunfire. Do you copy? Licari, do you copy? Does anybody copy?" Airianna smirked at the concern in her voice, "Damn it."

"Something wrong?" She innocently asked as she sorted the shirts into their appropriate drawers before moving onto polishing the photos near her desk.

Dawn sighed, "They don't always radio back and it drives me crazy," Airianna shrugged her shoulders as she moved to put the photo of Dawn and Hanson under the lamp on the desk, "Wait, no, Airi. No, no, no, no. Not there. Up by the badges." She moved the photo to sit by what she guessed where Hanson's police badges, completing the small shine Dawn had made.

"It's Captain Hanson, right?" Dawn nodded her head.

"Did someone say something about him to you?" She wondered.

"Just that he used to be in charge," Airi decided to keep her knowledge vague.

Dawn shrugged her shoulders as she stopped biking, "Well you'll hear storied about him. About me. About what I did. He was my mentor. My friend. I miss him. That's the part the stories leave out."

Airianna glanced at the photo again, "What happened?" She questioned, wanting to hear Dawn's side of the story.

"They risk their lives every time they go out there," The leader said in reference to the other cops. "It has to be worth it. It has to matter. He lost sight of that. So he lost them. In this, you don't need their love...But you have to have their respect."

"Shame," She simply said. Dawn grimaced as she looked at the dead cop's photo, missing the disappointed look the pregnant woman sent her.

Airianna left the room when Dawn waved her off and made her way over to the open hallway where the elevator shaft was when she heard a slapping sound in the hall. She peered back and noticed O'Donnell glaring down at his ward.

"I don't know Percy, is the directive 'fix the hole in my sleeve' too complicated for you?"

The man adjusted his glasses as he stared up at the cop, "I'm sorry, I forgot."

O'Donnell huffed and shoved him to the ground, "Don't forget!" He glanced up and saw Airianna standing in the hall, "What about you? You any good with needle and tread?"

She tensed as he leered at her but Dawn stepped out of her office as she made her way over to the pregnant woman, "I need her. Sorry, we have a lot of work to do. Come on, Airianna."

Dawn set her to work doing inventory on three of the storage rooms, making sure everything was doubled checked as she watched her work. Airianna internally groaned at the amount of movement she'd been doing but toughed it out as she thought of Sophia lying unconscious a few rooms down. When she recounted the hand ventilators for the fifth time Dawn finally relented and let her take a break. She made her way once more to the elevator shaft where Beth and Noah were able to escape from and let her mind wander. She had caught the lack of message from the cops in the city and took that as a sign they had found nothing. The last time the said they found Noah was when they ended up bringing Sophia in, and she knew the girl would not have gone this far into the city by herself. That meant that Daryl or Rick or Merle, someone was with her when she was hit. It meant that the group now knows where she and the teenager are, and hopeful they met up with Beth and Noah so they can work everything out.

The door to the hallway cracked open and the redhead turned to see Dawn walking towards her, "Percy's gonna be okay."

"Nothing's okay," She grunted as she looked down the hole.

"Are you gonna jump?"

Airianna shot daggers at the woman, "Asking the pregnant woman if she's gonna jump? You definitely know nothing about me. I just wanted to be alone, something I never really get here. You left the spare key in your desk," She slipped the key out of her pocket and tossed it over in Dawn's direction. "Balance has been restored to the universe now."

"Well, I know you're not going anywhere," Dawn said as the mother rose to her feet.

Airi smiled in her direction, "Neither are you. You keep telling yourself you have to do whatever it takes just until this is all over. But it isn't over. I told you before, it will never be over. This is who you are and what this place is until the end."

"This place saved you," She reminded. "I saved you."

"Like hell I needed saving, I was in no danger. Except when you sent O'Donnell after me, that was on you," The female doctor snapped. "You are just so riddled with guilt that you have to say these things just to get by. And I never want to be like that."

"You know I protected you twice," Dawn hissed. "I know Edwards wanted Trevitt dead, but I don't know how he convinced you to do it. But I let the others believe Noah's bullshit story," She took a step closer. "And we helped that patient. And you are holding back from me, cause I know you did not even talk to Edwards about it. You knew exactly what you needed to take."

The door at the end of the hall opened and both women turned to see O'Donnell at the end, sending both females a condescending smirk. Dawn squared her shoulders and stepped in front of the pregnant woman, "What are you gonna do?"

"No Dawn, what are you gonna do?" He asked. "Starting with her."

"She's my ward. It's my call," Airi twitched at belonging to anybody, but she knew at the moment Dawn was the lesser of two evils.

"Fine," He conceded. "But your people deserve to know who they're working for. So, you gonna tell them or am I?"

Dawn sneered as she walked closer to him, "You don't get to threaten me."

He smirked, "It's not a threat. But these are the facts. You look like shit. guys were talking. They think you're cracking. This is Hanson all over again," He turned on his heel to head back towards the door. "It's time to make a change."

"O'Donnell," Dawn called as she pulled her gun on him. "You're wrong. I'm nothing like Hanson. I was the one who killed him, remember that? I was the only one who could go through with it."

"Lower your weapon, Dawn," He said. "All I have to do is shout."

"All she has to do is say you came at her," The man cop glared at the woman tucked behind the female officer.

"You're not gonna do this," He said, attempting to change her mind.

She shook her head, "You're not giving me a choice. Go."

Dawn kept her gun aimed at O'Donnell as he started to walk in a circle heading towards the elevator shaft, "We were rookies together," He said to get some sympathy. "You knew my wife. You were here in this hospital having cigars with me in the parking lot when my kid was born."

"Don't," Dawn hissed. "That guy is gone. We're supposed to protect people. To help them. But look at you," She glared at him. "You're beating an old man. You're laughing with your buddies about that poor girl getting raped. That's who you are now."

"So who the hell are you?" He shot back.

"Somebody who's not gonna let it happen anymore," She promised.

He chuckled, "That's not what this is about. It's about holding on to what you have."

Airianna snuck around the room while both of their attentions were on each other, "What the hell do I have?"

"This isn't you," He whispered as he inched slightly closer to her. "After Hanson, you changed."

He lunged at her and her gun went flying towards the elevator shaft, getting lost in the scuffle. The two fought against each other as Airianna watched at a distance, cringing as O'Donnell started to get the upper hand. He lifted her off the ground by her neck and glared as she started to choke.

"You think you're better than us!?"

She kicked him away and he turned back to her, jerking back as a gunshot rang out. Dawn watched in shock as blood started to pool on O'Donnell's shirt and Airianna kicked him backward, sending his body to the bottom of the elevator for the walkers in the basement. The pregnant woman sighed as she gripped the gun in her hand tighter.

"Jackass didn't even notice me slip it off his belt," She mutter as she offered it to Dawn. "Funny how someone so invisible to him could do so much damage."

"Thank you," Dawn whispered as she grabbed the gun and slipped it onto her own belt.

Airi rolled her eyes and walked out of the elevator, making a beeline to Sophia's room. She avoided the officers rushing past her as they went to go investigate the gunshot, she didn't give a shit what story Dawn told this time. The woman may preach about doing the right thing, but she was only worried about saving her own ass. The redhead smiled as she went into Sophia's room and sat on the bed next to her, taking her hand into her grip as she gently ran her hand through the girl's hair. She teared up as she remembered doing the same to Eren not long ago when he was sick.

Dawn walked into the room not long after Airi settled on the bed with her girl and she groaned, "Can't you just leave me the hell alone?"

"It's okay to cry," Dawn commented as she noticed the wet trails on the pregnant woman's face. "It was a scary thing you had to do."

"These tears aren't for you or that asshat," Airi claimed. "I miss my son, Eren. And you got what you wanted so you don't have to be so nice to me."

Dawn shook her head, "I don't know what you mean."

"You change moods at the flip of a coin, at least that's what I thought when I showed up," Airi admitted. "Now I see you get mad at people when they have no apparent use to them. You're soft and kind to people you need. You punished me for Beth and Noah's escape and for killing Trevitt. But now you're nice now cause I killed O'Donnell, who was a threat to you. So don't patronize me."

"Is that so?" She muttered.

"That's how things work here," Airi responded. "Everyone uses people to get what they want. You're not the ones who have to remember."

Dawn furrowed her brows, "Is that what happened with Edwards and Trevitt? He used you?"

The redhead snorted, "No, I used him. A desperate man will agree to just about anything don't you think?" Dawn looked at the pregnant woman in surprise, "And I'm getting out. Like Beth and Noah. Except I am going to walk out the door and you are going to let me."

"He'll be back. They always come back," Dawn sighed as she walked to the door of the room. "And you're not going anywhere."

"I'm leaving," Airianna declared. "And Noah's going home."

"You know, I'm not stupid, You know her," Dawn gestured to the girl and Airi gave her a sarcastic look. "You both ended up here, that means something. You could be a part of this, make it work. Both of you. This is important. Maybe the most important thing you do in your life."

"The most important thing in my life is my family, protecting them," Airianna corrected her. "So you've picked the wrong person for your cult bullshit. I am taking Sophia and walking out of here. We are going to see my husband and my son again and I will be so happy when my twins are born. And this sweet girl you say could work here," She looked at the blonde. "She's going to be a proud big sister. She's going to be happy far away from here."

Dawn sighed, "I didn't use you, but I will remember," With her final promise she left the redhead alone with the teenager.

Airianna glared at the woman as she left and tried to get comfortable on the bed, grunting at the sharp pain in her back. The annoyance left her mind and she shot her head down as she felt Sophia moved under her. She beamed as the girl rolled her head into Airi's side and tightened her grip on the mother's hand. Airi kissed Sophia's forehead as she pulled the girl closer to her body, revealing in her healing. The pair sat alone in silence until Airianna heard Sophia groan next to her as her eyes fluttered open.

"Welcome back to the world Sophia," The blonde's eyes widened at Airi's voice and she craned to look up at her.

"Airi? You're alright," She looked down slightly and giggled at her pregnant stomach. "Is the baby alright."

"The _babies_ are just fine," She whispered.

The girl pressed a weak hand to her stomach, "Twins? You're having twins?" Airi nodded her head. "Daryl's gonna flip when he hears."

Dawn stormed into the room and both of the females tensed on the bed, "Airianna, it appears some members of your group took some of my officers hostages. They want to trade for you and Sophia here," She motioned outside the door and Edwards walked into the room. "Edwards will make sure Sophia is ready to leave. Your clothes you were wearing when you were brought in are on your bed. I suggest you go to change."

Airianna gave Sophia a soft smile as she slipped out of the bed, "I will be right down the hall, hon."

The girl smiled at her and she quickly scooted around Dawn and waddled happily back down the hall. She grinned at the sight of her long-sleeve purple shirt and green tank top she normally wore over it, along with the maternity jeans Glenn had tracked down on a run once. She swiftly tossed on the clothing before she struggled to get her converses on, cursing at the laces she had trouble reaching with her belly. Airi sighed in relief when the laces were finally fully tightened and she sprung back up to meet Sophia outside. Before she left the room she made sure her shirts were hanging over her waistband, running her hand over it as she walked out.

Edwards and Dawn were outside of the room with Sophia sitting in a wheelchair. Airianna carefully placed her hands on the handles and pushed the blonde down the hall with Edwards trailing behind them. Dawn walked ahead to the barrage of cops aiming at the door where the other group was going to appear from at any moment.

Airianna sighed in relief as she caught Rick's form on the other side of the door. Dawn looked at the cops around her, "Holster your weapons."

The five cops around did as she ordered and everyone watched as Shepard and Licari were brought in by Rick, Daryl, Merle, Noah, Beth, Tyreese, and Sasha. The two cops that led the group and the hostages into the building walked back over to Dawn and she allowed Airianna to push Sophia to the front. The woman teared up as she glanced between her husband and her friend, both Daryl and Rick sending her soft smiles.

"They haven't been harmed," Rick promised Dawn.

She glanced at the group, "Where's Lamson?"

"Rotters got him," Shepard called out.

Licari nodded in agreement, "We saw it go down."

"Oh," The leader lightly said. "I'm sorry to hear that. He was one of the good guys. One of yours for one of mine."

Rick nodded and sent Daryl walking with Licari. Dawn sent Fields to push Sophia over to the middle of the hall. Daryl grabbed the bag Sophia had on her and gently lifted her from the wheelchair, holding her close as he walked back over to Rick. Airi watched happily as Sophia hugged Daryl tight and steeled her nerves as she waited alone. Sophia had Daryl set her to the ground so she could stand tall as they left this hell hole. Dawn lightly grasped Airi's arm and pulled her along to the middle of the room while Rick brought Shepard to them. The two were switched and Airianna beamed as Rick wrapped his arm softly around her shoulders, walking her back to her family.

"Glad we could work things out," Dawn called out. "Now I just need Noah. And then you can leave."

Airianna and Rick stopped in their trek back to the group at the end of the hall as Noah turned around in shock. Rick turned back around and walked up to the woman and Airi hung back to grab Noah as he tried to walk past her, stopping him from getting too close to the leaders.

"That wasn't part of the deal," Rick coldly said.

"Noah was my ward," Dawn defended her amendment. "Airianna took his place and I'm losing her so I need him back."

"Ma'am please, it's not-"

"Shepard!" The woman behind Dawn silenced. "My officers put their lives on the line to find him. One of them died."

"No, he ain't stayin'," Merle snapped as he stepped up to stand in front of his sister-in-law and the kid.

"He's one of mine," Dawn continued. "You have no claim on him."

Rick shook his head, "The boy wants to go home, so you have no claim on him."

"Well, then we don't have a deal."

The ex-cop glared Dawn down, "The deal is done."

Noah squeezed out of Airi's grip and limped forward, "It's okay."

"No, no," Rick put his hand up to stop him.

"I gotta do it," He whispered to Rick. He passed his gun back to the leader before he turned to look back at Beth. "See you around Beth." The girl moved to step forwards but Sasha pushed her back.

"It's not okay," Airi muttered as she watched her friend limp back over to Dawn.

"It's settled," Dawn claimed as Noah inched closer to her.

"Wait!" Airianna waddled up and hugged Noah to her as close as she could.

"It's okay," He promised. "Look after Beth."

He pulled away from her and Dawn eyed them both, "I'd knew you'd be back."

Airianna pulled away from her before she shook her head, "He doesn't have to go. You aren't short a ward anymore."

"You are leaving so yes I am," Dawn snapped.

"What about Percy?" Airi suggested. She smirked as the officer tensed. "What with what happened to O'Donnell, he's open for the job."

"What happened to O'Donnell?" Shepard asked behind Dawn.

"Oh, right you were tied up," The redhead muttered. "I shot him and shoved him down the elevator after he tried to hurt my baby." Noah looked at the small woman in surprise at her confession but the mother could feel Rick and Daryl right behind her seething in rage. "After you told him to punish me, Dawn. So I think you are just fine."

Dawn smirked at her, "Doesn't matter. I asked for Noah."

Airianna rubbed her back, "Oh I get it. Believe I do."

She tightly grabbed Dawn's right arm as she swung her arm up, stabbing a small pair of scissors into the woman's shoulder. Dawn jerked a pulled the trigger of the gun resting in her hand and Airi cried in pain as the bullet went into her thigh. The officer got her arm free of Airi's a whipped her gun across the pregnant woman's face, sending her flying into Noah's arms. The boy caught her in shock and watched as Daryl pulled a gun out of the waistband of his pants and shot the officer's hand, forcing her to drop the gun. He aimed for her head, but Rick held him back as Noah pulled Airianna out of the line of fire.

"You little bitch!"

Dawn tried to run towards the redhead, but Shepard grabbed her and tackled her to the floor, utterly surprised Dawn would go so far. Everyone else on either side pulled a gun, but she cried out from on top of Dawn, "Hold your fire! Hold your fire! It's over. It's just about her," She said pointing to the restrained woman under her. "Take Noah and go. Edwards can patch up Airianna too."

She motioned behind her and the doctor scrambled between the raised guns with a small medical bag, waiting for Noah to bring the woman back over. Noah was frozen as he gently held her, but Airi pushed out of his grip and leaned on the wall to walk over to Steven. Daryl lowered his weapon and grabbed his wife, carrying her over to the doctor. Edwards quickly stitched the entrance and exit wound as she moaned in pain, passing a small bottle of pain meds and the penicillin she stole of the medicine cabinet into her pocket as he stood back up. Airianna nodded at him as he inched back behind the line of cops.

"Alright, Stand down!" Shepard ordered once Daryl had carried his wife safely past Rick. The cops stood down and Daryl tugged Airi closer in his arms as she started to flutter in and out of consciousness. "You could stay. We're surviving. It's better than out there."

Rick shook his head as he looked from his injured friend and the crazed woman sobbing on the floor, "No. And I'm taking anyone back there who wants to leave. If you want to come with us...Just step forward now."

No one moved and he nodded before motioning his group to leave. Daryl rushed down the stairs with his wife, Beth and Noah by his side as Merle scooped up Sophia. The rest filed out as the descended the stairs. When they reached the bottom Rick walked out first followed by Tyreese and his sister. Merle and Sophia went next after Airir waved them off weakly. She smiled as she watched her girl get out the door and turned her head up to Daryl. She cupped his cheek and wiped the tears from his eyes.

"I'm alive."

"Ya could've died."

She smiled and leaned up to his face, "I'm alive."

Airianna's head spun as she leaned in to kiss him. He pushed gently against her lips and she was taken back to their very first kiss, when it felt exactly like a soft summer breeze. It warmed her very soul and she pulled away to see Beth and Noah had walked out to give them privacy. A loud cry from outside brought them out of their moment and Daryl pushed the door open and they both caught Maggie happily holding Beth close to her. The two sisters cried at their reunion but Airianna gasped at the small form tucked in Glenn's arms.

She tumbled out of Daryl's grip and limped her way over to her friend. Glenn gazed at her in surprise, but the child in his arms squirmed out of his hold and dropped to the ground to run towards Airianna.

"Momma! I found you! I found you!"

The mother sobbed as her son ran into her arms, nestling himself into her soft form as she ran her arms over his back, praying he was real.

"You found me baby, I always knew you would."


	41. Chapter 41

Airianna and Beth were surprised at the new members of the group but quickly warmed up to them. Abraham, Rosita, and Eugene were an odd trio but they seemed to have a good working dynamic. Daryl explained to his wife how the simpering man had lied about having a cure for the virus and had convinced Abraham to guide him to DC. She couldn't blame him for his cowardly self-saving tactic, he was just trying to survive. The man kept his distance from her, but Abraham and Rosita warmed to her quickly. The fellow redhead complimenting her on her 'giant sack' when he heard about how she attacked Dawn to protect Noah. Rosita seemed to hover around her, concerned about her condition but not sure how to approach her. And she didn't quite know how to talk to Father Gabriel, then man jittery in demeanor.

It definitely didn't help that Daryl and Merle were constantly glued to her side. The brothers practically growled at the newer members in the group if they came to close to the healing woman.

Airi finally chewed them out when they went off on Tara as she was trying to play with Eren. The girl might be unfamiliar, but she helped Glenn save her son. Tara nodded appreciatively at her as she carried the toddler off to Maggie and Beth's sides, and the mother gave her family members such an earful it even got Rick to laugh at the sight of a heavily pregnant woman yelling at two grown men.

The group had decided to take Noah home after Sophia and Airianna claimed they were healthy enough to travel the five hundred miles to Virginia. The group traveled on the fire truck a good portion of the way but had to switch to two large vans after the engine quit on them. The vans had luckily gotten them all the way to Noah's hometown and Rick decided to take Glenn, Michonne, and Tyreese with him and Noah to scout the boy's neighborhood.

Airianna sat with Eren and Judith in the back of one of the vans while she watched Sophia and Carl sitting in the grass outside. The group had parked the cars in a field by a willow tree and the kids were enjoying the short moment of peace. Daryl was off looking for any animals to catch for more food while Abraham and Merle ran watch on the perimeter of the small camp. Maggie sat with her sister and Rosita as they talked quietly in the other car while Eugene sat under the willow tree with Father Gabriel sitting nearby the shy man.

Airi turned her head to the driver seat of the van she was in, seeing Sasha sitting by herself, "You okay Sasha?"

The woman jerked in the seat, "Oh, yeah. I'm good, I guess."

"It's okay if you're not," The doctor commented. "I'm sorry about what happened."

"You weren't there," Sasha muttered. "Even if you were you wouldn't have been able to do anything to help Bob."

"I know, but I'm still sorry," She repeated. "He was a good man."

"Thanks," Sasha mumbled before she slipped out of the car.

Airi watched her leave as she sighed and adjusted the little girl in her arms. She was happy the two youngest in the group were naive to the troubles of the world, both finding comfort with the pregnant woman's presence. Eren had taken to rubbing his face into her belly as he tried to talk to his siblings as if yelling through her skin would make them respond.

"I'm glad we found you," Airi glanced up to see Carl scuffing his feet outside the open doors of the van. "Sophia missed you a lot."

"I missed everyone, to be honest," She responded. "Finally feel safe again. It's nice."

"Even if we're out in the open like this?" He asked.

She nodded, "I'm with the people I love, my family. What more could I ask for?"

"I'm also glad Sophia's alright. I was worried when she was taken," He admitted with a light blush.

Airi looked over his shoulder to see Sophia chatting with Beth and Maggie, "Have you told her that?"

"No," He turned to look at the other thirteen-year-old. "Just glad she's back."

The redhead shrugged her shoulders, "Alright then. I know she's happy to see you as well, Carl."

The boy smirked and opened his arms to grab his little sister. The mother passed Judith over and watched as he walked her over to the trio of girls as she heard the radio sitting in the car crackle. She struggled to stand up but was able to grab it as Rick's voice cut in and out on the frequency.

"Rick, what's going on?"

"Tyreese...Bitten. We cut his arm...Bleeding," The doctor paled at the words she caught.

"I'll be ready when you get here," She promised.

She climbed out of the car and waddled over to Maggie, tossing the woman the radio and telling her to keep tabs on the group as they headed back. She ducked into the other van and grabbed the duffle bag with the group's last bit of medical supplies to search for the bandages they had left.

Maggie came up to her and tugged on her arm, "Airianna, stop."

"Tyreese needs help," She insisted. "I have to-"

"Airi," Maggie tried again. "He didn't make it."

The pregnant woman leaned back in defeat and stayed sitting next to Maggie as Rick and the others returned. She closed her eyes as Sasha broke down at the sight of her brother's body and tried to fight back her tears when she felt Daryl wrap his arms around, having returned to the camp to find his wife sitting with Maggie while Rick silently dug a grave for Tyreese. The couple sat together as everyone in the group mourned for their friend and family member, only moving when the others started to crowed around the fresh grave. Daryl helped Airi to her feet and stood by her as Sophia held on tightly to Eren, tears dripping down her face as she watched the man who saved her from the prison get gently placed in the earth.

Sasha laid a sheet over her brother and stepped back as Father Gabriel gave a quick but sweet eulogy for the man. She then watched as everyone in the group shoveled a single pile of dirt into the grave, never letting her eyes stray from her brother's body as he was covered. When she took her turn she lamely tossed another pile onto the grave before she wandered away. The rest of the group dispersed while Rick started to finish the grave for his friend.

He paused in his digging when he noticed Airianna still stood off to the side of the willow tree, gazing at the small cross with Tyreese's cap on it, "I should've been there. I could've helped."

"No," Rick denied. "I think we were too late either way. It just happened."

"Are we going to keep losing people?" She wondered.

Rick turned to his oldest friend, "Not if I can help it," He walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'll find somewhere safe, where we can have roots."

"Where?"

The leader moved back to the grave and finished his work, "Only a hundred miles to Washington. Worth a shot at least."

When the leader was finished he collected the group and explained his plan. They all agreed to try for a safe zone in Washington and loaded up back in the vans. As the group traveled closer to the old capital city they took note of the ever-increasing drought around them and started to collect as much water as they could along the way. About twenty miles into the trip one of the vans died and the whole group was crammed into the only one left. It also wasn't long until the water ran dry and after a day and a half without Rick insisted on searching for more. They took a break from the travel to search a nearby creek labeled on an old map: Sasha, Daryl, and Maggie volunteering to go. As the three went on their way Beth checked the food supplies and informed Rick how low they were. Rick wanted to save the canned food for the pregnant woman, but she refused, insisting it be shared evenly.

Airianna perked her head up as she heard footsteps but deflated at the disappointed looks on the trios' faces as they returned, "How much further do we have to go?"

Rick looked over to Rosita as the three walked closer, "About sixty miles."

"Well the cars out," Abraham added. "Just like the other one."

"So we walk," Rick said as he started to walk away from the car.

The rest of the group slowly followed after their leader, leaving the empty van behind. Rick carried Judith as he and Daryl walked near the front of the group, Merle and Abraham taking up the rear. Airianna walked near Michonne and Carl as Sophia carried Eren on her shoulders next to her. Beth and Noah kept close to Maggie and Glenn, the teens trying to keep the atmosphere light. The group continued their walk for at least a day and Merle signaled to Rick about a small cluster of walkers that had started to tail them early in the morning.

"We're not at our strongest," Rick said as they continued. "We'll get them when it's best. High ground, something like that. They're not going anywhere. "

Airi walked a bit closer to the leader as her husband shrugged his shoulders, "She's hungry," He gestured to Judith.

"I could take her," Airi suggested. "I have some of the water left."

"She's okay," Rick stated. "Keep the water. She's going to be okay."

"We need to find water, food," Daryl said as he watched the interaction.

"We'll hit something in the road," Rick promised. "It's gonna rain sooner or later."

Daryl glanced to the side of the road, "I'm gonna head out. See what I can find," He passed his rifle over to Rick and lifted his crossbow up. "Ya comin' Sophia?"

The girl nodded her head and passed Eren back over to his tired mother, "Hi momma."

"Hi, Eren," She smiled at her son as she shuffled closer to Rick.

"Don't be too long," Rick warned the hunting pair.

"We got it," Her husband huffed as he and Sophia slipped into the treeline.

Airianna walked along with Rick as the group continued on the road. Beth walked closer to the woman as she noticed the weight of her son was slowing her movement. She plucked the boy out of her arms and lightly rubbed her back. She smiled gratefully at the blonde as she carried the boy over to Noah. Airi glanced back and noticed how Michonne and Sasha had swapped with Abraham and Merle at the back of the group. She shuffled over to her brother-in-law and shoved against him. Merle smirked and tousled her hair lightly as she settled into step with him.

"Never asked what Daryl thought of the hair change," Merle grumbled as he looked at her shoulder-length curls.

"Hasn't asked about it yet," She admitted. "But he complains about having less to mess with."

He snorted, "Ha, course he likes playin' with hair."

Noah quirked his brows, "What do you mean."

"I used to have really long hair, Noah," She muttered as she twirled her shorter stands with her fingers. "Merle cut it when a walker was pulling on it a while back."

"Short hair looks great on you Airi," Beth chimed in as she rocked Eren in her arms.

"Yeah," Noah agreed. "Couldn't picture you with long hair honestly. The shorter cut looks more mature I guess."

"Ya callin' Airi old, boy?" Merle asked.

"I...I wasn't...I'm not," Noah started to stutter.

Airianna rolled her eyes and jammed her elbow into Merle's gut, "Stop teasing Noah, he's just being polite."

Merle chuckled at the flushed tone of Noah's face and Airi rubbed her forehead with her hand before she stumbled in her steps. She looked up to see Sasha shoving past her to walk to the front of the line. Airi turned back to see Michonne giving her an apologetic look, but she waved the swordswoman off. The group continued on until they reached a bridge on the road and Rick signaled of them to stop. He passed Judith into the pregnant woman's arms and sent her, Beth, Noah, Eren, Eugene, and Carl to the far side of the bridge. Leaving himself, Glenn, Michonne, Sasha, Abraham, Rosita, and Merle to the end closest to the swarm of walkers shuffling their way.

The seven stood on the sides in front of the bridge as the walkers approached, trying to lure them into the ravine under the bridge. Rick caught ahold of the first one and started to fling it over the side, sending it crashing to the rocks below. The others joined in, jumping out of the way as the walkers lunged so they would plummet to the ground far below. The strategy worked rather well until Sasha grabbed one of the walkers and wouldn't let it go. She stabbed the walker in its brain and the rest of the group took out their knives and melee weapons to join her as she started to take out her repressed anger on the dead bodies coming at her.

Airianna watched worriedly as Daryl and Sophia appeared out of the trees and joined in the fighting, helping Rick with a walker cornering him against the railing. Sasha slashed at a walker and Airi rushed forward when she heard Abraham grunt loudly in pain. As the threat was ended and they approached the rest of the group the doctor ran to the other redhead's side and grimaced at the deep cut on his arm. She tried to reach for it but he brushed her off, insisting it was fine. She tried again, but Rosita jumped in the way and promised to treat the wound for him.

Daryl tucked his wife into his side as he walked by Abraham and led her back to the front of the group. Sophia followed after the couple and they kept close to Rick and the other children as they continued.

"Dad, look," Rick and the other's looked in the distance where Carl was pointing and smiled at the sight of a few cars in the road.

Daryl eyed the cars, hopeful of more shelter nearby, "I'm gonna head back out, circle back. Sophia stay with Airi," The girl nodded and Airi placed a soft kiss on Daryl's cheek before he took back off to scout.

The group slowly started to search the cars and Sophia and her mother figure checked a small sedan, finding it empty. They watched as the rest of the group looked in the rest of the cars, both of them cringing as Maggie and Beth found a walker stuffed in the trunk of one of the cars. Glenn walked over as the girls grimaced at the sight and quickly dispatched of the body.

Rick decided to rest by the cars until Daryl got back and everyone settled down for a break. Airianna passed the last water bottle over to Rick and insisted he let Judith have it, and he finally agreed if she split it with Eren. The mother agreed and both of the small children gulped down the offered water. A snap of a brach caused Rick to tense, but her relaxed as Daryl appeared from the trees. He shook his head and moved to sit down next to his wife.

"So all we found was booze?" Tara asked as she watched Abraham crack one of the bottles of alcohol open.

Rosita sighed, "Yeah."

"It's not gonna help."

The Hispanic woman nodded, "He knows that."

"It's gonna make it worse," Tara muttered.

"Yes, it is," Airi agreed as Abraham passed the bottle over to Merle, who decided to take a large swig of the honeyed liquid.

"He's a grown man," Eugene added. "And I truly do not know if things can get worse."

Tara glanced at the ground, "They can."

The group shot their eyes up at the sound of deep growling and watched as four dogs appeared out of the treeline. They stopped in front of the group and raised their hackles, barking at the people sitting on the other side of the road. Daryl whipped out his hunting knife as he crouched in front of his wife and two kids, keeping his eyes directly on the animals.

A set of silence gunshots went off and the dogs dropped to the ground, Airi turned her head to see Sasha glaring at the dying creatures before she lowered her weapon and took her seat once more.

Rick got up and started breaking sticks to make a fire and the pregnant woman watched as he and Daryl moved to cook the dead animals to feed the group. She grimaced as her husband handed her a piece of the meat but started to nibble on it when she felt violent kicking from her stomach. Daryl passed chunks of the meat to Sophia and Eren and while the girl scrunched her nose she and the boy ate the food.

Noah eyed one of the dogs' collars as Sasha walked past him and Beth, "Your brother...He tried to help me. I don't know if I'm gonna make it."

"Then you won't," She coldly stated before she walked off to collect more firewood.

"You'll be fine, Noah," The blonde next to him muttered. "I've made it this far. You can too. Don't think about it right now, just eat."

After the sad but fulfilling meal, Rick started the group up again. Everyone walked slower but kept moving, trying to move on as much as possible before night fell over them. Glenn walked around checking on everyone in the group and Airi smirked when he jokingly offered her a piggyback ride so she could take a break. She shook her head, but Eren pleaded for one so now the Asian man had the three-year-old clinging to him. The group slightly perked up at the boy's happy squeals, and slightly picked up their pace.

Daryl decided to slip off again to search for water and Merle took off after him this time around. Airianna knew many in the group were concerned for him after everything she and Beth had gone through, Daryl taking most of it to heart. But she knew he was just trying to some thread of hope to keep the guilt off his back.

The group kept their pace up until Rick motioned for them to stop. Airi looked up the road and furrowed her brows at the sight of four large jugs of water and a case of water bottles sitting in the middle the road along with a piece of paper. She gripped her knife tight as they walked up to the containers in the middle of the road and Rick picked up the paper, reading the words on it.

Daryl and Merle walked back out of the forest and Rick passed the paper over to the hunter, "From a friend?" He scanned his eyes around the area.

"What else are we going to do?" Tara asked.

"Not this," Rick replied as he looked for the supplier of the liquid. "We don't know who left it."

"If that's a trap, we already happen to be in it," Eugene observed. "But I, for one, would like to think it is indeed from a friend."

"What if it ain't?" Merle wondered. "What if they put somethin' in it?"

Eugene walked up and grabbed one of the bottles, "Eugene, what are you doing?"

"Quality assurance," He muttered as he brought the bottle to his lips. Abraham rushed up and knocked the water out of his hands, slipping it onto the ground before he could consume it.

"We can't," Rick said as Abraham stepped back.

The sound of thunder rumbled above them and everyone looked to the sky as storm clouds moved overhead and small droplets of water started to fall from the sky. Airianna sighed at the refreshing feeling of the water hitting her and smiled. Michonne started to giggle next to Maggie and the two women opened their mouths to catch the water droplets. Everyone joined in on the joyous occasion and Daryl scooped up Eren as the boy started to jump in the puddles.

"I'm sorry, my Lord," Father Gabriel cried as she stood in the rain.

Airi looked at the man with sympathy as she and Rick started to pour the full containers out, "Everybody get the bags. Anything you can find," The group shuffled to grab their empty water bottle and canteens as the two friends watched the jugs on the ground start to fill up with the fresh rainwater.

The thunder crashed harder and Judith started to wail, Carl placed his hat lightly on his sister's head to protect her from the rain," Rick, we'll need to find some sort of shelter."

The leader nodded at the doctor's words as lightning flashed across the sky, "Let's keep moving."

"There's a barn," Daryl called out over the rain.

"Where?" Rick asked.

Merle pointed in the way they appeared from, "Back that way, Officer Friendly."

The group followed the Dixon brothers through the rain until the barn came into view and Rick entered with his gun raised. Daryl, Glenn, and Maggie walked in after him and quickly dispatched of the lone walker in the building. They motioned the rest of the group inside and they set up a small fire for the night to attempt to dry off. Glenn, Michonne, Rick, Airianna, and Daryl sat around the fire keeping watch on the others as they slept on the ground and up in the loft of the barn.

The fire started to go down slightly and Glenn picked up another stick, "I'll try."

"Nah," Daryl brushed off. "Too wet."

Rick glanced back behind him where Carl, Sophia, Eren, and Judith were all curled up together, "They're gonna be okay," He looked back at his pregnant friend. "They're gonna be just fine, Rick. They bounce back more than any of us do."

"I used to feel sorry for kids that have to grow up now," Rick muttered. "In this. But I think I got it wrong. Growing up is getting used to the world. This is easier for them."

"This isn't the world," Michonne argued. "This isn't it."

Glenn sighed, "It might be, at least for right now."

"That's giving up," She said.

"That's reality," Glenn shot back.

"Until we see otherwise, this is what we have to live with," Rick decided. "When I was a kid...I asked my grandpa onde if he ever killed any Germans in the war. He wouldn't answer. He said that was group-up stuff, so...So I asked if the Germans ever tried to kill him. But he got real quiet. He said he was dead the minute he stepped into enemy territory. Every day he woke up and told himself, 'Rest in peace. Now get up and go to war.' And then after a few years of pretending he was dead...He made it out alive."

He looked up at his group members around him, "That's the trick of it, I think. We do what we need to do and then we get to live. But no matter what we find in DC, I know we'll be okay. Because this is how we survive. We tell ourselves that we are the walking dead."

Everyone around the fire looked at each other before Daryl shook his head, "We ain't them."

"We're not them," Rick agreed. "Hey, we're not."

"We ain't them," Daryl stood to his feet and walked away from the firepit.

Airi rolled her shoulders and slowly got to her feet to go after her husband. She walked up to him as he moved into one of the stalls and wrapped her arms lightly around his body. She leaned her head against his back and he turned around in her embrace as the babies started to kick against him. He looked down at his wife sadly and hand his hand gently up her cheek.

"Keep closin' my eyes and seein' ya gone," He whispered.

"I'm not going anywhere," She promised as she turned her head and kissed his palm.

He tucked his hand on the back of her neck and leaned in close to her, "Ya could've. And with the babies…" He sighed and placed his chapped lips over hers, relishing in the sweet feeling. "Just don't know if I could go on."

"You can, Daryl," Airi said. "For Eren and your brother, and them." She grabbed his free hand and placed it onto her stomach. "You are stronger than you think."

He gave her a soft smile and helped her lay on the ground so she could get some rest, "I'm gonna take watch for a little bit. Love ya, Airi."

"Love you too, Daryl," She mumbled as she allowed sleep to fall over her as the rain continued to pour outside.

Loud thudding woke Airianna up and she struggled to her feet as she noticed Daryl, Maggie, and Sasha flinging themselves against the barn doors. She heard the growls of walkers barely over the crash of thunder outside and she ran to the door to help hold the barrier up. Daryl motioned for her to get away but she pushed her back onto the wood next to him, grasping his hand tight as the rest of the group ran to help. Everyone in the group fought against the walkers trying to make their way in as Eren and Judith stayed in the back of the barn. The sounds of the walkers and the thunder picked up as the wind flung itself back on them, but everyone held their place as the storm raged on.

Airianna's eyed cracked open again to the sight of Daryl sitting next to her wide awake with Eren sleeping in his arms, "You should get some sleep."

"Yeah," He mumbled as he watched Sasha and Maggie move on the other side of the barn as they woke up.

"You can rest now, hon," He absently nodded and she pulled him down so his head was resting just above her stomach.

She smiled as his eyes fluttered shut. Airi turned her head to see Merle passed out on the other side of his younger brother. The redhead watched quietly as the two women got up together and walked out of the barn. She glanced at the rest of the group and sighed in relief, she didn't know how but everyone survived the storm unscathed.

About an hour later Daryl woke back up and she couldn't convince him to fall asleep again once he noticed Merle and Rick up and checking on the others. She let him pass Eren into her arms as he got up to talk to the leader. She sighed and tucked her son closer into her as everyone else slowly woke up. Sophia offered her a small bit of the meat left from yesterday and she took it.

"Hey," She glanced up as Maggie and Sasha walked back into the barn with a stranger. "Everyone. This is Aaron."


	42. Chapter 42

Everybody in the barn lept to their feet as they pulled their weapons on the newcomer. Daryl rushed outside to check if anyone followed the two women back to the barn, "We met him outside. He's by himself," Maggie explained as Daryl moved back into the building and shut the door behind him. "We took his weapons and we took his gear."

Airianna whacked Merle in the leg and motioned for help. Her brother-in-law huffed but leaned down and helped her to her feet, Eren still sleeping in her arms.

The new man, Aaron, smiled awkwardly as he looked around the barn, "Hi," Judith started to cry at the tense atmosphere in the barn and Rick gently passed her over to Carl as he sized the other man up. "It's nice to meet you." He tried to walk towards Rick, but Daryl took a step forward and more guns cocked, so he stepped back.

"You said he had a weapon?" Rick asked Maggie. The brunette woman walked around Aaron and passed Rick a small revolver. He eyed the gun and slipped it into his waistband. "Is there something you need?"

"He has a camp nearby," Sasha explained. "He wants us to audition for membership."

Aaron chuckled, "I wish there was another word. Audition makes it sound like we're some kind of dance troupe. That's only on Friday nights," He shifted his feet as the barn stayed silent. "Um, and it's not a camp. It's a community. I think you all would be make valuable additions. But it's not my call. My job is to convince you all to follow me back home." Rick eyed the man and Aaron sighed, "I know. If I were you, I wouldn't go either. Not until I knew exactly what I was getting into. Sasha, can you hand Rick my pack?"

The woman rolled her eyes but brought the bag over to the leader, "Front pocket, there's an envelope," Rick unzipped it and pulled out the yellow package. "There's no way I could convince you to come with me just by talking about our community. That's why I brought those."

Airianna slipped past Merle and walked up behind Rick, looking over his shoulder. Aaron straightened as he noticed the pregnant woman and her child that had been hidden before, "Photos?"

"I apologize in advance for the picture quality," Aaron stammered. We just found an old camera store last-"

"Nobody gives a shit," Daryl growled at the man as he watched his wife and Rick glance at the photographs.

He turned to look back at the annoyed Dixon, "You're absolutely 100% right," He moved back around to see Rick and Airianna eyeing the first photo. "That's the first photo I wanted to show you because nothing I say about our community will matter unless you know you'll be safe. If you join us, you will be. Each panel in that wall is a fifteen-foot high, twelve-foot wide slab of solid steel framed by cold-rolled steel beams and square tubing. Nothing alive or dead gets through that without our say-so. Like I said, security is obviously important. In fact, there's only one resource more critical to our community's survival. The people."

Rick stood up from crouching on the ground and passed the photos into Airianna's free hand. She flipped through each of them in disbelief of the picturesque homes and solar panels, "You can make us even stronger," Aaron continued on his sales pitch. "The next picture, you'll see inside the gates. Our community was first construc-"

Rick stormed up to and punched him across the face. Many of the group jumped in shock as Aaron fell to the ground unconscious. The redhead set the photos down gently and passed Eren to Merle as she went to check on the poor man's breathing.

"So we're clear," Michonne called out to Rick. "That wasn't a 'let's attack that man' look. It was a 'he seems like an okay guy to me' look."

"We got to secure him. Dump his pack. Let's see who this guy really is" Rick ordered.

Merle moved around and tossed the contents of the backpack onto the ground, "Rick," Michonne hissed.

"Everybody else, we need eyes in every direction," The leader continued, ignoring the pressing of the swordswoman. "They're coming for us. We might not know how or when, but they are."

Airianna shrugged her shoulders as she checked the man's pulse, "He could've just attack Sasha and Maggie when they were out," She noted. "Taken them hostage."

"Airi's right," Maggie agreed as Daryl frisked the man's pockets. "Me and Sasha, we didn't see him. If he had wanted to hurt us, he could've."

"Anybody see anything?" Rick called out.

Glenn shook his head, "Just a lot of places to hide."

"Alright, keep looking," He wandered up to Merle and Carl shifting through the bag's contents, "What you find."

The two stood in front of a roll of toilet paper, a few jars of applesauce, a water bottle, and a flare gun, "He's got somethin' to call the reinforcements."

"I've never seen a gun like that before," Carl added as he passed the flare to his father.

Rick grabbed the flare and walked back over to Airianna's side as she dabbed a wet rag on Aaron's face to wake him back up. Rick nodded to Daryl as he wrapped the man's arms together with the small bit of rope they had. He grabbed the pregnant woman by the shoulder as Aaron woke up and started to move again, but she brushed his concern off.

"Hell of a right hook there, Rick," Aaron muttered as he glanced up at the man.

"Sit him up," Daryl hauled the man up straight as his wife continued to check him for a concussion. Aaron tried to focus on Rick as the pregnant woman told him to follow her moving finger, "Airi, stop whatever you're doing."

"Gotta check him for a concussion, Rick," She shot back. "If his brain's been knocked around too much he won't make a good conversationalist."

"I'm fine," He promised the concerned woman. "Promise. It's okay." He looked back to Rick, "You're being cautious. I completely understand."

"How many of your people are out there?" Rick asked. "You have a flare gun. You have it to signal your people. How many of them are there?"

"Does it matter?" Aaron wondered.

"Yes. Yes, it does."

"I mean, of course," He conceded. "It matters how many people are actually out there, but does it matter how many people I tell you are out there? Because I'm pretty sure whatever number I say...eight, thirty-two, four-hundred and forty-four, zero. No matter what I say, you're not going to trust me."

"Well it's hard to trust anyone who smiles after getting punched in the face," Rick shot back.

"How about a guy who leaves bottles of water for you in the road?" He asked.

Daryl and Rick looked back at the jugs of water, "How long have you people been following us?" The hunter questioned.

"Long enough to see that you practically ignore a pack of roamers on your trail," The group tensed at his statement. "Long enough to see that despite a lack of food and water, you never turned on each other. You're survivors _and_ you're people. Like I said, and I hope you won't punch me for saying it again, that is the most important resource in the world."

The group members looked between Aaron and Rick as the leader approached the man slowly, "How many others are out there?"

Aaron sighed, "One," Airianna nodded her head at his statement. His pupils stayed the same, no obvious sweating, and his heart rate looked normal: all clear signs f someone telling the truth. "I knew you wouldn't believe me," He muttered as he watched Rick. "If it's not words, if it's not pictures, what would it take to convince you that this is for real? What if I drove you to the community? All of you? We leave now, we'll get there by lunch."

The pregnant woman watched as Rick shifted at his offer, "I'm not sure how the nineteen of us are going to fit in the car you and your one friend drove down here in."

"We drove separately," He corrected Rick. "If we found a group, we wanted to be able to bring them all home. There's enough room for all of us."

"And you're parked just a couple miles away, right?" Beth posed to the man.

He nodded his head, "East on Ridge Road, just after you hit Route 16. We wanted to get them closer, but then the storm came, blocked the road. We couldn't clear it."

"Yeah, you've really thought this through," Rick observed.

"Rick, if I wanted to ambush you, I'd do it here," He pointed out. "You know, light the barn on fire while you slept, pick you off as you ran out the only exit." The female doctor motioned to Daryl as he glared at the man's theoretical plan. "You can trust me."

"I'll check out the cars," Michonne offered.

The leader shook his head, "There aren't any cars."

"There's only one way to find out," Airi stated as she tried to get to her feet, smiling as Maggie helped her up. "Michonne can handle herself better than anyone else here."

"We don't need to find out," Rick argued.

Michonne stepped right in front of him, "We do. You know what you know and you're sure of it, but I'm not."

"Me neither," Maggie chimed in.

Rick looked between the two before eyeing Airi, "I'm on their side, besides we can always put a bullet in his head if he's lying," She felt Aaron flinch next to her, but she ignored him. If he was telling the truth then he had no need to worry at all.

Rick rolled his eyes, "Your way is dangerous, mine isn't."

"Passing up someplace where we can live? Where Judith can live?" Michonne asked him. "Where Airianna can safely have her kids?" Rick's eyes flitted over to the pregnant woman's belly, flashing back to Lori before they found the prison. "That's pretty dangerous. We need to find out what this is. We can handle ourselves. So that's what we're gonna do."

"Then I will too," Glenn added. "I'll go."

"Abraham," Rick called to the military man.

The male redhead nodded, "Yeah. I'll walk with them."

"Rosita?"

She shifted off of the wall, "Okay."

"Merle?"

"Always down for some Scooby-Doo shit," The one arm-man blurted out as he passed Eren back into his mother's arms.

"If there's trouble, you got enough firepower?" Rick asked Glenn.

The Korean man shrugged, "We got what we got," Rick passed him Aaron's gun and Glenn took it before he followed the others outside the barn.

Daryl dragged Aaron to his feet and sat him on one of the hay bales in the barn as Rick followed Glenn, "The walkies are out of juice. If you're not back in sixty minutes, we'll come," Michonne nodded her head. "Which might be just what they want."

The group of five headed out the doors as Rick addressed the others," If we're all in here, we're a target."

"I've got the area covered," Daryl promised as he waved towards Airi.

"Alright," Rick confirmed. "Groups of two, find somewhere safe within eyeshot."

The others filtered out of the barn until Rick was left alone with Aaron and Judith, but he paused when he noticed Airianna had yet to move towards the exit. He gave his friend an odd look as she shrugged and laid Eren down on another hay bale, letting him sleep soundly.

"I'm pregnant, not much use out here."

Rick snorted, "You and I both know how wrong that statement is."

"When the world was still the world, I worked for an NGO," Aaron called from his spot further in the barn. "Our mission was to deliver medicine and food to the Niger River Delta. Bad people pointed guns in my face every other week. You're not bad people. You're not going to kill us. And we are definitely not going to kill you."

"Just because we're good people doesn't mean we won't kill you," Rick pointed out. "If the five of them aren't back in an hour...I'll put a knife in the base of your skull."

Airi sighed but took a seat by her son's sleeping form, eyeing the other man sadly. The three sat in silence for a moment until Judith started to wail. Airi and Rick moved towards the baby and Rick started to crush some nuts in a bowl while the mother scooped the little girl into her arms, lighting rocking her to calm her frustration.

"You did see the jars of applesauce in my bag, right?" Aaron asked the leader. "This isn't a trick. This isn't about trying to make you like me. It's self-preservation. Because if the roamers hear her and come this way, I know I'll be the first to go."

Airianna shrugged at his logic as Judith cried in her ear, cringing at the infant grabbed on her hair, and started to pull at it. She shuffled over to Daryls' bag and pulled out Eren's deer, waving it in the girl's face to distract her. Judith's tears lessened slightly as she reached for the toy and Airi happily passed it to her so she could chew on something before she got fed.

Rick picked up one of the jars and carried it over to Aaron, dipping a spoon in and holding it up to the man's mouth. Aaron looked at Rick in shock, "You think I'm trying to poison your baby daughter? I'm tied up and you've already expressed a willingness to stab me in the head. How would cruelly killing your daughter in front of you in any way help the situation?"

"Maybe she doesn't die, maybe she gets sick," Rick reasoned. "Maybe you're the only one that can help her and I just lose."

"I am the only one who can help her," Aaron claimed. "Because I have applesauce and we all win." Rick put the spoon back up to his mouth, "I hate applesauce. My mom used to make me eat foods I didn't like to make me more manly. Salmon patties, applesauce, and onions. HSe was a very confused woman who tried her damnedest. I just bring the jar to show that we have apple trees nearby."

"Just swallow it, Aaron," Airianna called out as Judith's crying picked back up. "Instead of arguing like a little kid that doesn't want to eat his lima beans."

"Like you said, you'll be the first to go," Rick repeated as he offered the food to the man.

Aaron groaned but stuck the spoonful in his mouth and swallowed it as quickly as possible. Rick then carried the jar over to Airianna and started to spoon-feed the infant in her arms. Judith happily consumed the applesauce at an impressive speed and the two friends relaxed at the quiet that fell over the barn.

"The community is big enough," Aaron started talking again. "We can find a place for you to live where even when she cries, no one, nothing can hear it outside the walls."

"You got forty-three minutes," Rick replied as he grabbed his now happy daughter from the redhead's arms.

Aaron glanced at the barn door worriedly, but his eyes shifted to the toddler sleeping on the hay bale across from him as he rolled over and his eyes fluttered open. The little boy scrambled up at the sight of a new person and ducked himself behind his mother's legs. The man smiled as the boy peeked himself out from his hiding spot before tucking himself back.

"Mamma, Rick. Who's that?" Eren whispered as he kept sneaking glances at the strange man.

Rick smiled at the little boy, "He's a guest."

"My name is Aaron," The man introduced.

The young Dixon jumped from behind his mom and ran up to the man, "My name's Eren! We match! Look, Mamma!" He pointed to the adult and himself. "We match!"

"I see that baby," Airianna softly replied as Rick snorted at the child's enthusiasm. "How about we give Aaron his space, alright?"

"How will you tell apart?" Eren asked as he walked back over to his mom.

"Um, my name is spelled with two As," Adult Aaron called out to the boy, keeping his eyes off of Rick who was glaring at him for talking to the three-year-old.

"There you go, hon," Airi replied. "Your name is spelled like E-R-E-N. Completely different."

"Oh," Eren muttered. "I hungry, Mamma. Where dad?"

"Dad's out hunting," The pregnant woman gently explained to her son. "But Rick has some applesauce you can share with Judith.

"Judy!" Eren happily called as he rushed over to Rick and his daughter. "My Judy!"

Rick gave the boy a soft smile as he passed him the last half of the applesauce, "Here you go, Eren," The boy scooped up the food and waddled off to eat it sitting next to his mother.

A thump outside drew the adults' attention away from the child and they watched as Michonne, Merle, Rosita, Abraham, and Glenn appeared with arms full of canned food. Airianna watched in shock as they deposited the large pile of food in front of Rick. Rick glanced between Aaron and the pile before he grabbed one of the cans and stood up.

"This, this is ours now," Rick declared as he cracked open a can of soup and passed it gently to the pregnant woman. Airianna hesitantly started to eat the can of soup as the rest of the group returned from their hiding places.

"There's more than enough," Aaron said as he watched Rick take care of the redhead.

"It's ours whether or not we go to your camp," Rick clarified.

"What do you mean?" Carl asked. "Why wouldn't we go?"

"If he were lying of if he wanted to hurt us...But he isn't," Michonne pointed out. "And he doesn't."

Airianna nodded her head in agreement, "It sounds like a safe place."

"Someplace Airi could give birth," Sophia added.

"We need this," The swordswoman added. "So we're going, all of us. Somebody say something if they feel differently."

"I don't know, man," Daryl chimed in as he moved to sit next to his wife. "This barn smells like horse shit."

Rick smirked, "Yeah, we're going," He turned to look back at the restrained man. "So where are we going? Where's your camp?"

"Well, every time I've done this, I've been behind the wheel driving recruits back," Aaron explained. "I believe you're good people. I've bet my life on it. I'm just not ready to bet my friends' lives just yet."

"You're not driving, Aaron," The pregnant woman responded. "Rick definitely doesn't trust you enough for that."

Michonne nodded in agreement as Rick pulled out a map, "So if you want to get home, you'll have to tell us how."

He sighed, "Go North on Route 16."

"And then?"

"I'll tell you when we get there," He promised.

Rick shook his head as he glanced at the map, "We'll take 23 North. You'll give us directions from there."

Aaron shook his head, "That's...I don't know how else to say it...That's a bad idea. We've cleared 16. It'll be faster."

"We'll take 23," Rick insisted. "We leave at sundown."

"We're doing this at night?" Sasha questioned.

"Look, I know it's dangerous," Rick admitted. "But it's better than riding up to the gates during the day. If it isn't safe, we need to get gone before they know we're there."

"No one is going to hurt you," Aaron pressed. "You're trying to protect your group, but you're putting them in danger."

"Tell me where the camp is, and we'll leave right now," Rick promised. Aaron looked away as he shook his head and Rick got up from the ground. "It's going to be a long night. Eat. Get some rest if you can."

Airianna sighed and leaned into her husband's side as Eren crawled up into his lap. It wasn't long, or at least she thought it wasn't long, before she was shaken awake. She furrowed her brows at the darkness outside and the lack of people in the barn as she eyed Daryl in front of her. He offered his arm and she got to her feet, following him out and into the RV. Rick, Glenn, and Michonne decided to ravel with Aaron in the front car, leading the way. Everyone else squeezed into the RV as Abraham sat in the driver's seat with Rosita next to him with a map. But as soon as he noticed Airi trying to sit at the small table in the back he waved her down.

"Sorry Rosita, but it's redhead's only in the front tonight," The woman eyed him oddly before she caught the pregnant woman's gaze and she stepped out of the seat so she could sit in a chair with a seat belt on it.

Airi waved at the Hispanic woman as she took the free spot next to Daryl, "Thank you, Abraham. That's very generous of you."

He shrugged his shoulders, "Just manners little lady."

She snorted as he put the vehicle into drive and the small group took off into the night. Airi glanced back to see Beth and Maggie with Eren and Judith all the way in the back of the RV, giggling at the faces they both made in their sleep. Sophia and Carl were with them, but the teenage girl was nestled into Carl's side as she dozed and the boy had his arm lightly around her, failing to hold back a blush. Daryl, Merle, Rosita, Noah, Father Gabriel, and Eugene were squeezed into the seats in the living/kitchen area of the RV with Merle bunking it on the ground.

The female doctor kept her eyes shifting between the map and the road in case the need for a detour occurred. She sat in silence as they continued down the road, but braced herself as Abraham slammed on the breaks before ripping into reverse and turning the vehicle around.

"Man, what the fuck's goin' on?" Merle cried as Noah landed on top of him due to the sudden breaking.

Airianna watched in shock as the car in front of them continued through the herd of walkers heading towards them, "There's a herd! We have to turn back."

"Mrs. Dixon is correct there," Abraham shouted as he gunned it in the other direction. "That way is an undeniable shit storm and I applaud them for not breaking immediately and creating a nasty accident."

"What about the others?" Daryl shot back.

"We can take 16 and loop up to meet them on Jefferson Ave," Airi called as she peered at the map. "It's a road that connects the two highways."

They backed up the way they came and got onto Route 16 when a flare shot up in the sky ahead of them. The two in the driver's seat looked at the sky in shock before Abraham gunned it down the road towards the light, "Rick might've set that off."

"Then let's fuckin' go!" Daryl snapped as they started towards the light.

They drove on towards the flare until they came upon a cluster of buildings and a small water tour. Abraham peeled into the parking area near the buildings and Airianna jumped from the seat when she noticed a man pinned under a fallen fence with a few walkers coming after him. She pulled out her gun and took out the walkers before she approached the man. The man jerked back at the sight of another person but relaxed as he recognized the pregnant woman from the group he and Aaron had been tailing the past few days.

"Please, help me!" He cried as his ankle burned under the weight.

Airianna rushed to his side as Abraham and Daryl ran out to join her, "I will. I promise. Can you tell me your name?"

"Eric, my name's Eric," He said as the two men started to lift the fence off of his leg. The man scrambled out and cried as he tried to stand up.

Airi caught him before he fell and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, "I think your ankle may be broken, hon. Let's get you inside." He absently nodded as Daryl helped her get him to the closest building, allowing Merle and Abraham to check the inside before the rest of the group wandered in to hunker down. "Beth, go grab the first aid kit."

The blonde ran back as the doctor took off Eric's shoe and started to check his foot, grimacing at the purple bruises and swelling. The teen returned with the kit and Airi gripped his foot tightly snd shoved it back into its proper place, ignoring his sobs of pain as she started to tightly wrap it.

"Definitely twisted it," She muttered. "Can't tell if it's broken internally though. But I will wrap it like a cast just in case."

"Thank you, have you seen Aaron? My partner?" Eric asked as he watched the woman expertly treat his injury.

"Oh yeah," She nodded as she eyed the wedding ring resting on his left ring finger. "He's with the rest of our group. Probably saw the flare you sent out and is running this way right now."

She heard movement behind her, "Gonna keep watch for the others," Daryl grunted as he ran his hand over his wife's back She smiled over her shoulder at him and continued her work.

She stepped back after she had gotten the leg properly elevated and stepped back to give Eric space when she heard Daryl whistle outside. He cracked the door slightly and Carl and Maggie ran out to see their family members. The rest of the group poured out as well to check on them, but Airi stayed next to her patient with Sophia and Eren right next to her.

"Eric? Eric?" She heard Aaron calling out outside.

"In here!"

The man burst into the room and sprinted towards his partner, kneeling by his side when he noticed his wrapped foot, "Eric! Eric!"

"I'm okay," He muttered. "It's like a volleyball injury," He motioned to the pregnant woman. "Airi said it's probably only twisted, maybe broken. I like her."

"Couldn't tell with an x-ray if anything's broken," Airi replied as Aaron glanced her way. "But I wrapped it like a cast just in case, so no bones will shift during the night."

"It's not a big deal," Eric repeated as Aaron started to tear up. "I'll just go to the infirmary when we get back."

Aaron smiled at Eric before leaning and kissing him. Airi smirked but turned her head to give the men some privacy while Sophia rolled her eyes at the PDA. She watched as Rick came into the room and caught the private moment, the rest of the group trailing behind him.

"When I saw that flare go up, I...I thought..."

"You were worried, weren't you?" Eric coyly asked his husband.

He nodded, "Yeah."

"This is your fault, you know?" Aaron gave Eric a confused look. "Because I love you. And because when I'm worried I do stupid things. And when I do stupid things, I wind up underneath a rust bucket surrounded by roamers. So I hop a fence to get away and the fence falls with me cause I have no climbing skills." He smiled and turned to his bag, "But hey something good came out of today. While I was waiting for you, I searched through the neighborhood. I found this."

The injured man tugged out a license plate from California and watched the odd look on Aaron's face, "You lost the license plates."

"I lost the car," He sheepishly admitted.

Eric laughed, "Maybe it for the best. That monstrosity out front can run. It's so ugly, it'll scare the roamers away," Eric turned his head when he noticed movement from the hallway where Rick was hiding. "Hi, I'm Eric."

"Rick," He shortly said.

Aaron got up and approached the leader following him outside to the bigger room. Airi had Sophia help her up before she followed after the men, promising Eric she was coming back.

"Excuse me, everyone," The group turned to look at Aaron as he stood in front of them. "Thank you. You saved Eric."

"Can thank the Doc over there," Abraham pointed behind Aaron to where Airi stood with Rick and Sophia. "She rolled out the damn car to help him."

"Pretty stupid for a pregnant woman," Daryl mumbled as Merle jammed him in the ribs.

"Well, I owe you," Aaron continued. "I owe all of you. And I will make sure that debt is paid in full when we get to our community. When we get to Alexandria. Now, I'm not sure about you, but I'd rather not do any more driving tonight. Maybe we can hit the road tomorrow morning?"

Rick took a step forward to argue with the man when Arianna's hand grabbed his arm as she dug her fingers into his skin to keep him in place, "That sounds fine. And I'm sure Eric is missing you. So you can go back, I'll be along in a little bit after I check on everyone else."

Aaron smiled at her gratefully and stepped past her and Rick to get back to his husband. Rick looked down at the pregnant woman with annoyance as she freed his arm from her vice-like grip, "What was that for?"

"Eric's hurt, he's not going to want to leave his side," She insisted.

"And he did tell us where his camp is. He also only had one other person out here," Glenn added. "And they're both unarmed. I want us to be safe, too. But I can't give up everything else. I know what I said, but it does matter."

"Alright," Rick agreed.

The group settled down to sleep for the night and Airianna checked on Eric and Aaron one more time before she moved to sit down in the corner Daryl and Merle picked. The two brothers smiled at her and helped her to the floor as Sophia tucked herself and Eren into her left side. The redhead leaned into her husband to sleep as Merle passed out on the other side of the blonde girl. When the small family unit awoke Merle and Daryl moved to get the kids wrangled into the vehicle while Airi checked on her patient. She insisted on helping Aaron get Eric to the car and the two of them worked together. They settled into the back and Eren crawled into her lap, introducing himself to Eric claiming he and Aaron had matching names.

They took down the road towards Alexandria and Eric fell asleep on the bed. Noah walked up with a water bottle and pills, passing them over to the doctor.

"I know it's time for another dose, but I want to let him sleep until we get home," Aaron whispered as he gazed at his husband on the bed.

"Actually, it's for you. Airianna asked earlier for them," Noah said as he eyed the man. "A few bottles. Don't need to be stingy with them."

"You would know all about medical stinginess," Airi joked, smirking as Noah chuckled at her dry humor.

"I know how bad those hurt," He motioned to the bruises on his wrists.

"Yeah," Aaron whispered. "Thank you. Your leg. Did that happen before?"

Noah turned back around, "During. Dad and me, car accident. Rotters in the road. I had a doctor. Probably lucky I can even walk."

"We have a pretty gifted surgeon in Alexandria," Aaron informed. "His name's Pete. I've seen him do some amazing things. He might be able to help."

The boy glanced between the man and the ground, "Thanks, but I think if I ever wanted any part of it changed I would ask Airi. After she's had the twins of course."

Aaron looked at the woman next to him, "You're a surgeon? Thought you were a medic of some sort, but I didn't…"

"You're fine, Aaron," She waved off his awkwardness. "But yeah...Worked at a hospital and everything before. Did surgery on Rick right before everything happened, kinda ironic if I think about."

"Woah," Noah breathed. "I didn't know that."

"Yeah," Beth spoke up from behind him. "She also saved Carls' life when he got shot a while back on my family's farm."

"No wonder you guys are so lucky," The man next to her joked. "Got your own personal doctor on hand."

The RV continued on the road until it sputtered to a stop. Abraham jumped out and popped the hood while Airianna and Glenn joined him, "Can't win. Might as well paint it red and stick a ladder on top."

"Just need a battery," Airi muttered as she eyed the engine.

"Where we gonna find one of those?" Abraham scoffed.

Glenn waved him over to the side of the RV, "Right here," He lifted one of the steps on the interior and a spare battery was nestled inside.

"How'd you know that was there?" The man asked as Glenn smiled sadly at the battery as he picked it up.

"Come on."

The two changed the battery while Airi wandered with Sophia, watching Eren toddle around the road. Daryl and Merle sat perched on the top of the RV as the group waited, keeping watch just in case. The engine turned back on and everyone cheered at the noise. Airianna turned when she saw Rick walk off to the side, but relaxed when Michonne waved her off. Everyone hopped back into the cars and traveled a little bit further until they pulled to a stop in front of a giant metal wall. Airianna helped Aaron get Eric out of the RV as they led everyone up to the gate.

Daryl walked up to his wife and gently passed Eren to her as they waited in front of the gate, "Hey Rick," The leader looked over at the other child-wielding parent. "Even though you were wrong, you were still right." He nodded at her as she turned back around and wrapped her free arm around Sophia's shoulders.


	43. Chapter 43

The group carefully watched the gate slowly open as Aaron and Eric made their way closer, slipping into the half-open gate to speak with the person behind it. Carl turned and caught sight of a girl looking out one of the windows of a burnt house, but when he looked back she was gone. A noise behind the group caused Daryl to turn and fire towards it, plucking a dead possum from the ground as the people behind the gate finally noticed the large number of people on the other side.

Daryl glanced up at the nervous-looking man behind the gate and lifted the possum up slightly, "We brought dinner."

"It's okay," Aaron assured the man as he waved the group into the community. "Come on in, guys.

Airianna slowly walked in with the rest of her group as she looked around in surprise. The interior of the walls looked like a time capsule: clean streets, houses in perfect order, cut lawns and hedges. She shifted her feet awkwardly as she realized that in this place the only things misplaced were them, all dirty and feral looking. It definitely didn't help that the man at the gate was still giving everyone odd looks, especially her husband.

"Before we take this any further, I need you all to turn over your weapons," The nervous man insisted. "You stay, you hand them over."

The people in the group tensed at his slight order as they stood in place, "We don't know if we want to stay," Rick replied.

"It's fine Nicolas," Aaron said to the man.

Rick nodded, "If we were gonna use them, we would have started already."

"Let them talk to Deanna first," The scouter suggested.

"Who's Deanna?" Abraham asked.

Aaron smiled, "She knows everything you'd want to know about this place. Rick, why don't you start?"

A noise outside the gate drew the group's ears and Rick turned to see a walker lumbering up as the second covering on the gate started to close, "Sasha," The woman turned around and quickly dispatched the corpse right before the gate fully closed. "It's a good thing we're here," Rick muttered as he adjusted Judith in his arms and followed Aaron further into the community.

The man sent his husband off with Nicholas to head towards the infirmary while he walked them into the center of the town, showing off the townhouses in the center of the small square along with some of the other buildings used for storage and jobs. Aaron explained lightly how this place was a planned community that Deanna and her family were sent to during the beginning of everything. They set up the walls and more people joined throughout the years. Airianna sat nervously next to Daryl and Beth as Aaron led Rick into one of the townhouses to meet with the woman he kept going on about. Airi shifted as she watched Sophia and Carl talk quietly in the driveway in front of the house, observing their new surroundings.

Rick walked out of the house with a pensive look on his face and explained how Deanna was going to interview everyone in the group before they could get situated. He gestured to Glenn to go next but Aaron shook his head and looked towards the pregnant woman. Daryl tensed beside her, but she waved him off and passed Eren into his arms before she followed after Aaron.

She immediately took off her shoes as she walked into the sparkling clean house, not wanting to get the floors dirty. It honestly felt strange taking off her shoes like that again, but some habits stuck. Aaron smirked at her actions and led her into a sitting room right off of the beautiful foyer and the woman stuck out amongst the picturesque area. Aaron walked back outside as a middle-aged woman walked into the room from what looked like a dining room and smiled at her.

"Hello, my name's Deanna Monroe," She happily introduced. "May I have your name?" She asked as she walked around to stand behind the couch in the room, next to a camera.

"Airianna Dixon," The redhead lightly said.

"Please, take a seat," She offered the chair across from the couch. "Your feet must be killing you. I know mine did when I was pregnant."

She moved across the room and took the offered chair, "Thank you."

"Do you mind if I film this?"

Airi looked at the woman oddly, "Excuse me?"

"We are all about transparency here in Alexandria," She explained. "May I?" Airi gingerly nodded her head and the woman clicked a button on the camera before she took a seat on the couch, just out of the camera's line of sight. "So your leader Rick, explained to me how long you have been together and how strongly he cares for each and every one of you, but I want to hear your opinion."

"Why mine?" She wondered as she absently ran her hands on her stomach.

"When I spoke to Rick he mentioned you in high regard," Deanna elaborated. "Aaron also told me how you assisted Eric."

"Just treated his injury enough to get him mobile," She brushed off. "Anyone could do that."

"But you could've done more?" The older woman wisely guessed. "I was a congressperson. Ohio, 15th district. You?"

The mother shifted in her seat, "A surgeon, at Kings County Hospital outside Atlanta. My specialty was cardiothoracic, but being the CoS meant I had to be well rounded."

"CoS?" Deanna asked.

"Chief of Surgery."

"What luck, a top-notch doctor lands in our laps," She mused.

"Aaron said something along those lines," Airi muttered. "But I'm the one in need of a doctor with my pregnancy."

"We have another surgeon here, Pete Anderson," The female leader reassured. "You'll be in good hands. Both of you."

"I'm actually having twins," She shyly admitted.

"Wow," Deanna breathed. "How fascinating. Well, you'll do just fine here. It was a planned community. With its own solar grid, cisterns, eco-based sewage filtration. Quite a good thing for us to stumble upon."

"So you've all been here since the beginning?" Airi questioned.

Deanna nodded, "Rick asked something along the same lines."

"Because it is quite surprising," She explained to the older woman. "We've been together since the beginning, but each new safe place we found usually got ripped up by other people. People are more terrifying than walkers nowadays. The last place we had, a man showed up and attacked. He killed one of our own in cold blood and his men slaughtered most everyone else. A few of us were lucky to escape, but we were separated for a long time."

"That sounds horrible. I'm sorry you had to go through that," The woman softly said. "But your experiences make you valuable here. Your group is the first we've considered letting come in a very long time."

"And I'm grateful for the opportunity," Airi responded. "Not for me, but my children and Rick's. They deserve a safe place."

"Which of them are yours?" Deanna asked as she noticed some of the group shuffling around outside the front windows.

"My son, Eren. He's three," She explained. "And my daughter, Sophia. Who's thirteen. My husband, Daryl and I, took her in after her mom passed away a while back. Daryl's older brother, Merle is with us as well. Carl and Judith are Rick's kids."

"Children are always a blessing, I believe," The leader smiled. "And for you all to protect them so ardently, only gives me hope. But the one thing I must ask of you is, how would you describe Rick and your group?"

"Rick's my friend, a man I would trust with my life, my family's lives. We've all saved each other enough times to be connected more than anyone I knew before everything changed," She answered immediately.

"Thank you," Deanna said as she got up and turned the camera off. "You have given me great insight into better understanding your group. And if you wouldn't mind, I would love for you to work in the infirmary with Pete. Having two surgeons is far better than we could have ever imagined."

"You're welcome and I would love to use my skills again," The pregnant woman muttered as she got up, "Oh, and word of advice: Daryl and Merle are a bit rough around the edges. Merle especially. So don't take his flippant comments to heart."

"No need to worry," Deanna assured as she walked the woman to the front door, watching with interest as the redhead quietly slipped her shoes back on. "I have thick skin."

Airianna sighed in relief as she exited the house and Glenn was sent in next. She smiled as Daryl was instantly by her side with Eren checking her over. She promised she was fine to allay his concern as she sat down on an iron bench in Deanna's driveway to wait for the others to finish their interviews. Daryl grumbled as he was called in and he kissed his wife's cheek while he passed Eren to Sophia. He returned a few minutes later Sophia shuffled in with Eren in her arms, the final interviews the group had left.

The two came out as a slightly overweight woman walked out of the garage with a wheeled cart, asking the group to hand in their weapons. The people begrudgingly agreed as Rick set his Python down while Deanna watched him expectantly from her stairs, "They're still your guns. You can check them out whenever you go beyond the wall. But inside here, we store them for safety."

Airianna and Beth were the last two to add their guns to the pile and they both took their sweet time gently placing the handguns they had along with Beth's large rifle, which she acted like it was rather heavy for her to carry. Rick gave both women an odd look, but they just glanced at each other, ignoring their leader's gaze.

"Should have brought another bin," The woman joked as she pulled the cart away to sort and store the large amount of weapons.

Aaron then led the group through the town to one of the corners near the walls, motioning to the two houses on the end of the street, "These are for your group."

"Both of them?" Rick wondered as he eyed the large victorian style house and the equally large craftsman.

"At your disposal," Aaron repeated. "I'd call dibs on that one," He pointed to the craftsman. "It's got more curb appeal." Airi side-eyed the man at his joke, as if anyone in the group actually cared about how the buildings looked, "Listen, I know you're still feeling us out, but I'm glad you came. Anyway, Deanna's asked everyone to give you your space so they aren't all coming at you at once. Take your time. Explore. If you need anything, call me. I don't...We don't have phones. I meant...I'm four houses down."

"Thank you, Aaron," The mother replied. "That's very generous."

He wandered off and most of the group decided to follow his advice and take a glance around the town, leaving the Grimes and Dixon families in front of the houses. Merle rolled his shoulders and walked over to the craftsman to explore the interior of the house and Daryl followed hesitantly after him. Airi, Eren, and Sophia followed Rick and Carl into the corner house.

The mother looked at the house in wonder, noting the rustic and homey features of the furniture and the sleekness of the kitchen. She observed a pile of picture frames, sheets, and clean clothing laid out on the dining room table in the open floor plan as Carl and Sophia walked around the kitchen in awe. Carl reached over to the sink on the island and beamed as the water flowed as he turned on the tap. Rick sent him and Sophia to use the apparent working showers as he and Airianna continued to walk around the house. They both counted six bedrooms in the large house, not counting the large spare attic room. The pregnant woman was ecstatic for a ground floor bedroom and Rick offered for her to use the master bedroom on the first level.

She agreed after they went back and forth for a bit and sat in the room as she waited for Sophia to finish in the attached bathroom. She heard Merle and Daryl walk in and talk to Rick about the other house before Merle went back to take his own shower to clean his stump arm properly and Daryl chose to perch himself on the porch until his wife came out of the house, feeling too uncomfortable in the clean environment.

Sophia emerged from the bathroom in a clean black and white striped t-shirt and jeans, brushing her now shiny golden hair with a large smile on her face. Airianna kissed her lightly on the forehead as she walked by her into the master bathroom and smiled at the large tub tucked against the wall next to the shower. She started filling the basin and quickly washed Eren completely, scrubbing his skin clear of all the dirt and grime it accumulated. After he was washed like a new penny and dressed in tiny black overalls with a green shirt she sent him out the door to find his father outside. The redhead then stepped into the shower and groaned at the feeling of hot water cascading down her back.

Airianna wandered out of the bedroom with a light blue maternity dress and smiled at the sight of a clean-shaven Rick having his hair cut by a blonde woman, "I'll be darned. Never thought I'd see that again."

Rick smirked and gestured to the woman snipping at his hair, "This is Jessie. Jessie, this is Airianna."

"Lovely to meet you," The female doctor said as Jessie gave her a soft smile. "I'm going to check on Daryl."

"Alright," Rick replied. "Sophia took Eren to go check out some playground they have around here."

"Eren's gonna adore that," The mother called back as she stepped out the front door.

Daryl's head snapped up from the possum he was gutting at the sound of the door opening and his jaw dropped at his wife in a soft blue dress with her hair gleaming in the sun like fire, "Uhhh...hi."

Airi chuckled, "Hi Daryl, what do you think?" She spun around a little bit and he gulped as the bottom of her dress lifted slightly to reveal more of her leg.

"Think ya better change that outfit 'fore I test one of them damn beds," He grumbled as he looked back down at the dead animal to distract him.

"Oh please," She snorted as she moved to sit down next to him. "I am a whale right now."

"Prettiest whale I ever fuckin' seen," Her husband grunted as he continued to skin the possum.

The couple sat in peaceful silence as they both enjoyed each other's company on the porch. Both of them let their minds wander back to when they did the same thing as kids on Airi's mother's porch. Rick stepped out slightly later with Judith in a fresh onesie with Carl following after him as they watched more of the group members show up and wander through each house.

"You can look," Rick told Carl as the boy glanced over to the other house, "Just be quick."

Carl nodded and walked past the Dixon couple to wander through the other house with Beth and Noah. While the three investigated the other house Rick motioned to the husband and wife and they got up from the front steps and followed him out around the house, "They're right next to each other, but-"

"They took our weapons and now they're splitting us up," Rick finished her sentence.

"Yeah," Daryl agreed.

"Yeah," Rick looked around. "We'll all be staying in the same house tonight."

"Sounds like a good plan," Airi nodded her head. "I'll go tell the others."

She walked inside and explained to the others Rick's wishes and the group quickly started laying out blankets and sheets on the floor of the living/dining room of the house, taking the back cushions off the couch to offer more padding for the members sleeping on the floor. Abraham and Merle carried a crib into the room for Judith and set it down by a window seat. Airianna started to set up a bed on the floor by the seat, knowing Daryl would try to perch there all night if he could, Maggie offered her the couch, but she insisted the woman have her sister and Sophia share it instead. The two girls agreed and started to nestle on the couch, whispering to each other as they passed looks between Noah and Carl.

Daryl reappeared with Rick and set himself on the window seat just like his wife predicted and she sat down on the floor with her head resting on his leg. Most of the others collected between the fireplace and the couch, but Michonne caught the redhead's attention as she walked in from down the hall.

"How long was I in there for?' She asked.

Rick smirked, "Twenty minutes."

She wiped her mouth with her toothbrush in hand, "God, I could not stop brushing," She looked closely at Rick's clean face. "I've never...I've never seen your face like that."

"That's what I felt before and after," Rick mumbled.

"I get why we're playing it safe," She muttered as she looked around the room. "We should. I just...I have a good feeling about this place."

Rick nodded, "Well, I hope you're right."

"Yeah, me too."

A light knock on the door drew the group's attention and Daryl straightened his back while Rick moved to open the door, revealing Deanna on the other side, "Rick, I...Wow," Rick groaned as she looked at his face. "I didn't know what was under there. Listen, I don't mean to interrupt. I just wanted to stop by and see how you were all settling." She turned her head and glanced at everyone nestled together in the living room, "Oh, my. Staying together. Smart."

"No one said we couldn't," Rick lightly defended.

"You said you're a family. That's what you said," Deanna responded. "Absolutely amazing to me how people with completely different backgrounds and nothing in common can become that. Don't you think?"

"Everybody said you gave them jobs," Rick muttered.

"Mm-hmm, yeah. Part of this place," Deanna explained. "Looks like the communists won after all."

He smirked at her joke, "Well, you didn't give me one."

"I have," She promised. "I just haven't told you yet. Same with Michonne. I'm closing in on something for Sasha. And I'm just trying to figure Airianna's husband out. But I will, Mr. Dixon, I promise." Daryl snorted at her formal reference to him and Airi gently smacked his knee, "Have a good night."

Everyone passed out soon after her little appearance and Airianna woke up early in the morning. Most of the others were still asleep so she carefully got to her feet and checked the fridge for food. She gawked at the cold chill hitting her face along with the vast amount of food nestled in the fridge. She grabbed a small basket of eggs, actual eggs, some fresh peppers, and a handful of foraged mushrooms. She quickly chopped up the vegetables and gasped in delight as the gas stove clicked on. She started to crack the eggs onto the heated pan on the stove when thick arms wrapped around her waist, startling her into dropping the egg she was holding to the ground.

"Daryl," She whispered as he started to kiss her neck lightly. "What the hell are you doing startling me?"

"Sorry," He muttered. "Just the sight of you up and fixin' breakfast...I didn't know how bad I missed that sight."

She smiled as she pushed the eggs around the pan before tossing in the chopped vegetables, "I missed this too."

Movement from the living room caused the couple to turn their heads and see the rest of the group slowly waking up at the smell of the cooking food wafting through the house, "What smells so good?" Glenn grumbled as he sat up from his spot on the floor next to Maggie.

"Smells like Airi's cookin'," Merle grunted as he cracked his eyes open. "Bet Daryl's already in there showin' her his 'appreciation.'"

"What do ya know, he is," Abraham snorted as he got up and noticed the man tucked in behind his wife. Daryl flushed as he jumped away from Airi and groaned as he smashed his hip into the island behind him.

The loud thump woke the rest of the group up and everyone smiled at the sight of the pregnant woman plating large servings of scrambled eggs in the kitchen. Beth came over and helped her pass out the food and everyone tucked into the warm food. The group sat together and passed around fun stories as they ate and enjoyed the company. With the food finished Beth insisted on washing the dishes and the rest of the group got ready to explore the town and check out their new jobs.

Rick waved off Carl as he pushed Judith out of the house in a stroller Aaron had brought by the previous day, "They said explore. Let's explore."

Daryl shook his head as he stayed sitting on the porch, waiting for Airi to finish in the kitchen with Beth, "Nah, I'll stay."

"Alright," Rick murmured. "Lori and me, we used to drive through neighborhoods like this. Thinking, one day…"

"Well, here we are," Daryl grumbled.

Daryl watched as Rick wandered off after his kids and turned his head as Beth and Airi walked out of the house, "Beth is going to walk me down to the infirmary so I can meet this other doctor. You staying here, hon?"

Her husband shrugged, "For now. Sophia took Eren back to that playground I think."

"Alright," She replied. "Can you squeeze in a shower while you're hiding out here?"

"Maybe," He offered as she and Beth stepped off the porch.

"You better, Daryl Dixon."

The two girls walked down the road as Beth led the way to the infirmary, "Deanna asked me to join the run crew with Glenn, Noah, and Tara."

"That's good," Airi muttered as she waved at Aaron on his porch. "You can keep an eye on them, maybe see how this community handles stuff outside the walls."

"Yeah, I also offered to cook some food for the older people in town," The blonde said as they turned a corner. "Thought it would make them like me more. And my momma taught me a bunch of casserole recipes."

"Well, you're integrating faster than I thought," She eyed the teen. "Any reason?"

"After Atlanta, the hospital…" She sighed. "I just don't want to be blindsided again. So if Rick needs anything I can help cause people will trust me more."

The mother nodded her head, "Good point. A pretty blonde teenager is more trustworthy than the semi-crazy leader of a new group."

Beth giggled at her description of Rick, "The shaggy beard was a bad look."

"You said it, Beth. Not me," Airianna joked as she eyed Sophia walking towards her with Eren and another girl tagging along after her. "Hey, Sophia. How are you both doing? Did you find the playground alright?"

"Yeah, we did," She turned to the sullen-looking girl, "This is Enid. She was taking us over to meet some more kids at Ron's house."

"Alright, nice to meet you, Enid," Airi lightly replied. "You be careful. Daryl's back at the house if you need something, and I'll be at the infirmary."

"Okay," The mother watched the kids from the sidewalk as they continued up the road and entered one of the corner houses.

She sighed at their retreating forms, but continued on her path with Beth. The women quickly found themselves at a house closer to the center of the community, close by Deanna's place. The redhead smirked at the perfectly styled hedges in front of the small one-story home and waved off Beth as Glenn walked around the corner calling her over where Noah and Tara were standing with two of the Alexandrians.

Airianna brushed off her dress and stepped into the home, glancing at the entryway with a small kitchen and white partitions separating it from a few beds and a tucked off area with a scale, height measurer, and an examination table. She enjoyed the homey feeling of the open room along with the cabinets stocked full of medical supplies. A hallway next to one of the supply cabinets led deeper into the building and Airi noted no one had appeared yet.

She stepped back slightly and knocked on the wall next to the door smiling as a woman with glasses walked out of the hallway, "Oh hello! You must be one of the newcomers, I'm Denise. You must be here for a check-up," She guessed as she motioned her hands over her own stomach.

"Lovely to meet you, Denise," Airi replied. "I'm actually here because Deanna wanted me to work here."

"Oh," The woman exclaimed as she walked over to the small kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. "We don't really need another nurse. Work's kinda slow over here, to be honest."

The mother quirked her brow, "I'm not a nurse. I'm a doctor. Deanna told me to speak with Pete Anderson."

"That would be me," A male voice chimed in. Airianna turned to see a tall blonde man smiling down at her as he walked up. "Sorry for the confusion. I haven't had time to tell Denise yet, you must be Airianna."

She nodded as she offered her hand to him, "Yes, it's nice to meet you," She internally winced as the man tightly gripped her hand and shook it. "I was thinking I could maybe try to get acquainted with the infirmary before I started working."

"Oh, but you have plenty of time," Pete assured.

"Do I?" Airi wondered. "I was thinking of starting tomorrow if I could. Help as much as I can."

The male doctor chuckled but stopped as he realized the redhead was giving him an odd look, "I'm sorry I thought you were joking. I would not have a pregnant woman joining me on surgeries. You should rest until the baby comes and then we'll see about you assisting me."

Airianna crossed her arms at his condescending tone, "Excuse me?"

"Maybe you could just help Denise out with day-to-day stuff," He continued as he ignored her. "Inventory, collecting stuff from the pantry when we're short, taking care of minor bumps and bruises. You know, stuff more at your speed." He gave the pregnant woman another bright smile as he ducked back into the hallway.

"I'm sure he just doesn't want you to overstrain yourself with the baby," Denis shot out as she watched the redhead. "How about I show you around?"

The female doctor sighed, but nodded her head and followed Denise around the house. She started in the main room, explaining it was for simple treatment and triage. The woman then led her down the hallway, pointing out the first door on the left as Pete's private office, the door on the end of the hall as the bathroom, and the two doors on the left as private patient rooms for bigger injuries. Airi stuck her head in one of the rooms and smiled at the two twin beds surrounded by all the necessary vital machines, ventilators, IV stands, and more shelving of medical equipment and supplies.

"Other room's identical," Denise muttered. "The place is small but if we end up expanding more Deanna said she'll move us to a bigger house. Single floor only, of course."

"What about the other two rooms on the left?" The mother wondered.

Denise pointed to the one directly next to Pete's office, "That's the X-ray room," She opened the door slightly and Airi was impressed to see an x-ray machine set up along with the proper radiation barriers by the controls. "And the one by the bathroom is the operating room." She closed the middle door and moved to the last one, pushing the door open and allowing the female doctor to gaze inside.

Airianna was astounded by the fully stocked OR in what must have been the master bedroom of the house, two other doors in the room most likely leading to a closet and another bathroom. The operating table was clean and alone in the center of the room with metal trays on wheels tucked in on the wall filled to the brim with scalpels and forceps.

"You even have an anesthesia machine?" She mumbled as she glanced at the expensive piece of equipment.

Denise smiled proudly as she led the pregnant woman back to the front room, "The run team went to an abandoned hospital a few months back with a moving truck, brought back a gold mine of stuff."

"I haven't seen such a well-stocked medical area since…" She paused as she internally flinched at the thought of Grady. "Since I worked near Atlanta."

"What did you do back then?" The other woman asked as she walked back over to where her glass of water was sitting on the counter.

"Worked in King County hospital, Chief of surgery," Her sentence caused Denise to spit the water out of her mouth.

"You were a Chief of surgery?" She asked amazed. "Pete was just a trauma surgeon here in Virginia. I was a psychiatrist. Deanna wanted me to work here because I studied to be a surgeon, but my panic attacks made me rethink operating on people."

"Surgeon's a hard profession," Airi gently said. "A lot of pressure, but I bet you could handle yourself just fine."

"Pete thinks I'm just in the way," She sadly admitted. "At least I'm a nurse, I can help in little ways. Better than none." She looked back towards the hallway, "But with your skills, I'm sure Pete will let you work with him. After the baby's born, we've never helped anyone give birth here before, kinda special."

"Going to be even more special since I'm having twins," Airi muttered as she moved to sit on one of the chairs against the counter. "So there's really nothing I can do to help out today?"

Denise shifted on her feet, "Well I was going to check in with Olivia to see if the run crew brought back any medical supplies from last week. We normally let her do her own inventory before we collect stuff," She explained. "But you could go if you want, introduce yourself."

"Thanks, sounds great," The redhead gave Denise a weak smile as she got up and slipped out the front door. "It was nice meeting you, Denise."

The pregnant woman kept her smile as she walked across the street to the pantry. She walked into the open garage instead of going straight through the front door, smiling at the small group of women walking out with small boxes of rations. She paused for a moment as they marveled at her baby belly, awkwardly standing in the driveway as they talked about knitting clothes for her future and setting up some sort of baby shower for her. She was thankful when Olivia walked out and she excused herself to go talk to the woman she met yesterday.

"Hi Olivia, Denise sent me over to check for medical supplies," Airi warmly said.

"Airianna, yeah Deanna told me you were a doctor," Olivia beamed. "It's great that you all are already adjusting so well. The blonde in your group, Maggie's sister, offered to cook for some of the elderly here."

"Yeah Beth's a sweetheart," Airi added as the woman led her inside.

The pregnant woman absently nodded her head as Olivia talked as she led her through the rows of shelves stocked full of food and up the stairs to the first floor. Airi noted a freezer sitting by the stairs across from a doorway leading to a room stockpiled with weapons of all sorts. She paused as she squinted her eyes at the room, trying to get a closer look without being obvious.

The redhead turned her gaze quickly away as the overly sweet woman in front of her turned around, "Sadly we don't have any new medical supplies, but I know the run team will be back soon so you could swing by the gate and ask for some."

Airi gave her a small smile, "Thank you so much for checking, Olivia. And for being so welcoming to us."

"Well if you ever need anything come ask me and I'll see if I can help," The brunette chimed. "Being pregnant right now must be exhausting."

"Oh, it sure is," Airi muttered as she made her way to the front door. "I'm going to check at the gate to see if the team's gotten back yet. Thank you so much!"

She sighed in relief as she closed the door behind her. Now she completely understood why Daryl wanted to stay at the house. Her social scale was far higher than his and she already wanted to rip her hair out, not to mention stop acting so friendly with all these strangers. But she knew that Deanna and the others were expecting the group to act perfectly fine and normal, to simply disregard all the trauma they haven't had a spare second to process.

The redhead snapped out of her thoughts as she walked towards the entrance to the community, hurrying her feet when she heard a man's raised voice.

"You four need new gigs. You're not ready for runs yet."

Airianna turned the corner and saw Beth, Noah, Tara, and Glenn walking back into the community with looks of disgust etched on their faces while the two men they left with were glaring at her group members, "Yeah, pretty sure you got that backwards," Glenn snapped as he continued to walk away.

"Hey, hey," One of the men caught up to Glenn and turned him around. "Look, we got a way of doing things around here. And you're not-"

"You tied up walkers," Glenn cut in.

"It killed our friend," The man argued. "Look, I'm not having this conversation. You obey my orders out there." Airi sneered at the rude tone the man had taken with her friend and glanced around to see more people walking towards the argument.

"Then we're just as screwed as your last run crew," The Korean man shot back.

Airianna moved closer as she noticed Daryl appear behind Glenn and the others. She glared at the man by Glenn as he stepped up to him with a smirk on his face, "Say that again."

"No, back off, Aiden," Tara yelled at him.

Aiden ignored her and pushed against Glenn's chest, "Come on."

Noah walked up, "Come one, man. Just take a step back."

"Come on, tough guy," Aiden continued as he pushed against Glenn again.

"Aiden," Beth hissed.

Glenn shook his head, "No one's impressed, man. Walk away."

"Aiden!" Deanna yelled as she ran up to the crowd. "What is going on?"

"This guy's got a problem with the way we do things," She calmly said as he faced his mother. "Why did you let these people in?"

Glenn scoffed, "Because we actually know what we're doing out there."

Aiden flashed around and tried to punch Glenn, but the Korean man ducked under the man's arm, "Aiden, no! That's enough!" Deanna cried as Glenn landed a hit to her son's face, knocking him to the ground.

Nicholas lunged at Glenn in retaliation, but Daryl grabbed him and threw him to the ground. Airianna ran forward as her husband straddled the man, grabbing on his shoulder in an attempt to pry him off of Nicholas. Rick joined her and they successfully pulled him off of the other man, Airi taking a breath as Rick kept his arm in front of Daryl to hold him back.

"Let's not do this now," Rick whispered at her husband.

"I said that is enough!" Deanna declared as Nicholas stumbled to his feet. "I want everyone to hear me, okay? Rick and his people are part of this community now in all ways as equals. Understood?"

Aiden shrugged his shoulders as he glanced at the newcomers, "Understood."

"All of you, turn in your weapons. Then you two come talk to me," The female leader ordered as the crowd started to disperse and Aiden and Nicholas walked away to the armory. Deanna glanced at Rick, "I told you I had a job for you. I'd like you to be our constable. That's what you were. That's what you are. And you, too. Will you accept?"

Michonne gazed at the woman as she turned to her and nodded her head in agreement, "Yeah, I'm in."

"Sure," Rick agreed as well.

Deanna smiled at the pair before she turned and started back towards her house to speak with the two troublemakers. Airianna sighed and turned back to Daryl, catching up to his retreating form and wrapping her arm around his waist. Daryl scoffed at his wife but smiled slightly as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders in return.

"How's the doctor's office?" He grumbled.

Airi groaned, "It was awful. The doctor, he treats me like I don't know how to do anything."

"Sounds like an asshole."

The pregnant woman giggled, "Oh, big time."

The couple made it back to the house and smiled at the sight of Sophia sitting on the porch with Eren and Judith on a blanket next to her. Daryl plopped down next to the girl and beamed as Eren clambered into his lap.

"How was Ron's house?" Airi asked.

Sophia shrugged her shoulders, "It felt really odd. Carl played video games with Ron and his friend, Charlie. I just sat there with Enid, and she wasn't really in the mood to talk much. Eren played with Sam downstairs."

"May just take time to get used to it," The mother suggested as she slowly sat down next to her. "Kids have always been odd little shits."

"Heh, I guess. I saw Enid sneak out too," She whispered. "Carl went over the wall after her, so I know she'll be fine...I just...I don't know."

"It's cuz ya like Carl," Sophia's head shot up as she noticed Merle walking up the steps. "Ya big on the jealous train like Darylina here was in school. Wooo-weee, did he hate it when guys would walk up and hit on his girl."

"Can it, Merle," Daryl hissed. He flushed as the blonde giggled at his older brother's story.

"It's true though," Airianna noted. "Daryl always clammed up when I spent time with another guy for too long."

"But, I don't like Carl _that_ way," Sophia argued. "At least I think I don't. Besides, I think Ron likes Enid."

"That sounds like a hot fuckin' mess," Merle grumbled. "Hows 'bout I take ya out huntin' tomorrow? Use ya bow a bit."

"Sure, Merle. Hours stuck with you and your shitty jokes sound great," She replied as she looked up at the one-armed man.

Airi smiled at the two and motioned for her brother-in-law to help her up. The man extended down his good arm and pulled the pregnant woman to her feet, offering her hand to her son. Eren jumped out of his dad's lap and latched onto the stretched limb, following his mother into the house. She made him a simple sandwich before she got him ready to sleep, letting him crawl into the bed in the mast bedroom instead of sleeping on the floor like last night. She tucked him in tight and sat with him until he passed out.

She quietly slipped out of the room and walked back out to the living room where the others were enjoying time together while Beth and Tara made dinner. Airi moved to join them but changed her course when she noticed Rick outside on the porch alone with Daryl.

"You a cop again?" Daryl asked.

Rick sighed, "I'm trying it on for size."

"So we're staying?" Both men turned to see the pregnant woman watching them from the front door.

"I think we can start sleeping in our own homes," Rick assured her. "Settle in."

Airi nodded, but bit her lip, "If we get comfortable here, we let our guard down...this place could make us weak."

"Carl said that," Rick noted. "But it's not gonna happen. We won't get weak. That's not in us anymore. We'll make it work. And if they can't make it...then we'll just take this place."

The couple shared a matching look at their leader's words but nodded in agreement anyway. Both of them knew the stakes if this place fell apart and the cost now was far higher than ever before.


	44. Chapter 44

"I don't see it, but it's close," Daryl whispered as he looked around the woods to catch sight of the walker nearby. "There's just one of them."

"We won't be here long," Rick promised as the hunter stepped closer to his pregnant wife. "So what do you think?"

"Don't feel so hot about stealing guns," Airi reluctantly admitted. "But we could just go in when it's empty."

Rick quirked his brow, "How is that? It's locked up at night."

She shrugged her shoulders, "The window. There's just a latch. I could get it open."

"A latch?"

"Yeah," She confirmed.

Daryl shifted his feet, "What if one of those pricks shuts it?"

"Wait a couple of days, leave it open again," His wife suggested.

The snarling from the walker increased and the trio shot their eyes to the trees, "It's getting closer."

"We need to do it sooner than later," Rick said in reference to the small heist. "Right now, they're not watching us. Not worrying about meetings like this. We may need the guns, we may not."

"Whatever way it goes, it's better to be prepared," Airi said. "Besides I bet someone else in town has their own hidden stash." She looked over to the pile of discarded items where Rick had hidden a gun before they entered the community, aware of how the firearm was now missing.

"They're the luckiest damn people I ever met," Rick admitted. "And they just keep getting luckier."

Daryl tilted his head, "How's that?"

"We're here now."

"They do have a couple of footlockers I saw the other day full of 9-millimeter autos, Rugers, Kel-tecs," Airi explained. "Just tossed in there. They don't really use them. They probably won't know they're gone. And if we have to return them then it will be just as simple as getting them."

The leader nodded his head, "Listen, the others, we want them to try. I want us to try as well. So we keep it quiet, just us."

The snap of a stick breaking floated through the air and Airianna turned her head to see the lone walker lumbering up towards them, but still a safe enough distance away. "I got him," Daryl grunted as he lifted his crossbow, but his wife shook her head.

"Let me, Daryl," He waved his hand and she started to fire the silenced gun in her hand multiple times into its chest before she took it down with a headshot. Rick and Daryl gave her an odd look for her poor aim, "You guys took me out for gun training. It would be weird for me to come back with a full magazine."

Daryl huffed, "Lucky he came by."

"We should get back," Rick advised as he glanced around. "Airi will pull the latch and we'll pick our moment."

The couple nodded and Daryl led his wife past the dead body but paused when he noticed something odd on its forehead. He leaned in close and frowned at a W carved into the walker, "The hell's that? Is that a W?"

"Yeah," The redhead nervously shifted her feet as she eyed the marking on the corpse. Maybe having a few guns on hand would be good if there was someone out in the woods carving bodies up for fun.

The trio wandered back to the road, Daryl splitting up with Rick and his wife to go meet up with Sophia and Merle, hoping to join in their early morning hunting. Rick and Airi waved off the hunter as he ducked back into the woods, following the path they took out back to Alexandria. Rick walked with his old friend all the way to Deanna's house, where he joined with Michonne waiting outside her door as Airi walked slightly further to reach the pantry and armory.

The pregnant woman stepped through the front door and smiled at Olivia, "I'm here to return this Olivia," She said as she held up the gun.

"How was training?" Olivia wondered as she grabbed the gun and walked to the back with it. "Rick seems pretty capable as a teacher."

The redhead rolled her shoulders, "Actually it was my husband teaching me. Rick said he wanted to be there just in case."

"That's sweet of your husband…"

"Daryl," Airi offered.

Olivia snapped her fingers, "Right, Daryl. He seems a bit standoffish. A few of the other women said his brother, Merle, was flirting with them, but he seems far different than his brother."

"Believe me he is," She chuckled. "Merle can be rough around the edges, but he is a kind person. Daryl's the same just far shyer around new people. Just hasn't come out of his shell yet."

"They both seem nice," Olivia noted. "Merle actually came here earlier with your girl, Sophia, asking for his gun. Said they were going hunting."

The pregnant woman nodded, "Yeah, Sophia's got a lot on her mind and tromping around in the woods while Merle's cracking dad jokes is a good way for her to vent."

Olivia hummed lightly as she placed the gun back on one of the shelves in the armory room, "Saw her compound bow, looked a bit menacing for how tiny she is."

"Daryl taught her everything she knows," Airi explained. "He was so proud when she said she wanted to learn."

The inventory woman adjusted her glasses as she took a glance at her notes for the day, "That sounds like interesting bonding time."

"It was," Airi mused. "I don't mean to bother but I was wondering if I could ask for a favor."

"Sure," Olivia glanced up. "What do you need?"

"I heard about the party Deanna's throwing and I was wondering if I could borrow some extra applesauce to make cookies," She gently explained.

"Applesauce in cookies?" Olivia wondered as she moved back to a shelf across from the armory. "How does that work?"

"You can substitute it for the eggs, I know we're in short supply of those right now," Airi muttered as she shifted her feet. "Since we only have a few chickens right now."

"No that's genius. I never knew you could do that," The other woman said. "That could change my life."

The pregnant woman smirked as she rocked on her heels, "If we could keep that between you and me. It's sort of the secret to these cookies."

"Are you serious?"

She nodded, "Was my mom's recipe. A girl's got only so many secrets nowadays."

Olivia nodded her head as she passed her a jar of the applesauce, "I will die with me," She paused for a moment as she glanced at her clipboard. "I could also give you some chocolate, but it's kind of a trick."

"You have chocolate?" The mother asked.

She nodded, "I can only ration you a quarter bar."

"I'll make it work," A sound from behind her drew her ear and she turned to see a small group of men walking through the house.

"Hey, Olivia," One of the taller men greeted. "We're gonna need to make a withdrawal."

"Late start?" She wondered.

He nodded, "Boss lady wants me to check that strut on the east wall before the party."

"Well, head on back," Olivia looked to Airi, "Airi, just grab what you need. Chocolate's in the hall freezer."

Airi nodded with a small smile as shuffled over to the freezer, cracking it open and picking up one of the small portions of chocolate tucked in the bottom corner. She closed the lid of the cool appliance and turned her head to where the men were picking out their guns. She stood in the doorway of the armory as the tall man caught her eye and smiled politely at her.

"You afraid of guns, Ma'am?" He asked as she moved her eyes around the room.

She shrugged her shoulders, "Mm, no, I...I had a handgun and I carried a rifle for a bit when we were on the outside," She stated as she walked into the room and looked out the window, laying her hand on it to subtly click the latch before she turned back around. "But I'm not an expert. Not with those, at least."

The man smirked as he adjusted the semi-automatic in his arms, "Well, my name's Tobin. And whenever you want, I'd be happy to teach you. Better to be safe than sorry."

"Oh that's very kind of you," Airi breathed. "But my husband already promised to teach me." She lightly muttered as she innocently rubbed her stomach.

"He's a lucky man," Tobin mumbled as his eyes shifted downwards to her baby belly. "But if you need any help I don't mind."

"Perhaps I could offer the same," She suggested The redhead shuffled her feet as Tobin quirked his brows. "What I mean is, I'm a doctor like Pete so if you ever need anything patched or checked just let me know."

"Well, that's wonderful," Tobin exclaimed. "May just have to swing in for a check-up sometime." He gave her a nod before turning back to Olivia, "Thanks, Olivia."

The other woman smiled as Tobin and his partners walked out of the room with their allotted weapons. Airianna sighed in relief as she and Olivia walked out of the room, completely ignoring the now open latch on the window in the room. She waved the woman goodbye as she stepped back out into the streets. With her extra ingredients, she made her way back home where Carl was watching his sister and Eren. She smiled at the teenager on the couch with her son in his lap. Carl smirked at the pregnant woman as she placed her stuff on the counter and started to pull things out of the cabinets.

"What are you doing Airi?" Cal asked.

"Making cookies for that party Deanna's having," She explained as she started to preheat the oven. "Shouldn't take too long."

"Cookies?" Carl eyed her oddly. "Why?"

She sighed and looked at the boy, "To make us seem more normal. I know people look at me weird cause I am swollen up like a balloon and Daryl's uncomfortable with all of this. So I thought bringing something could help."

"Merle seems fine with everything," The teen grumbled. "So shouldn't Daryl feel better about that?"

"Merle lived in Woodbury, remember?" He nodded his head slightly. "He knows how to deal with parties and gossip and all the kumbaya stuff already."

"Oh, I guess," Carl said as she got up from the couch and walked with Eren into the kitchen as Airi tossed her batter onto a cookie sheet. "Is that why Sophia's been weird? She's just not used to everything yet."

"What do you mean weird, Carl?"

"Yesterday at Ron's," He added. "I felt a bit awkward but tried. She just kinda sat there."

Airi groaned, "Carl you do realize before everything happened in this world she lived a very different life than you. You had friends at school and playdates, Sophia couldn't have that stuff." She muttered as she placed the cookies in the oven. "He dad was an asshole and she never really had any real friends at school or anywhere. She told me kids liked to bully her cause she would already come to school with bumps and bruises."

"Oh," He whispered. "She never told me."

"Cause you and Eliza were her first real friends, back at the quarry," The mother gently stated. "She never wanted you to see her as weird."

"She got mad at me for jumping the wall to follow Enid," Shifted his feet. "I know she told you."

The woman nodded her head, "She worries about you, Carl. And besides, you should not be following strange girls into the forest. She gives me a bad vibe."

"She's Ron's girlfriend I think," Carl guessed as he sat down on the counter.

"Do you like her?" Airi asked. "Is that why you followed her?"

"No," Carl shot down with no hesitation. "She just seems a bit lost, but she acts normal when everyone here is watching her. I guess she's like us."

"Maybe, maybe not," The pregnant woman guessed. "Sophia and Merle may not be back till later so they may miss some of the party, but promise me you'll be there for her if she doesn't feel comfortable."

Carl smirked, "Yeah sure, Sophia's my best friend."

"Good," The small egg timer rang out on the counter and the doctor turned to pull the cookies out of the oven, groaning at the delicious smell that filled the air. "Want one?"

The teen shrugged with a smile on his face as she slipped one of the steaming cookies his way before blowing on a smaller one and passing it to Eren. The toddler beamed at the treat and quickly devoured it while Carl and Airi chuckled at his rush. Rick came by later and helped get the kids ready for the party. The two parents corralled the three kids down the street to the center of town, but Airianna paused when she noticed Daryl, Aaron, Merle, and Sophia walking through the gate with a large white horse attached to some rope.

"Airi!" The girl waved down the pregnant woman. "Merle and I caught a horse! Her name is Sunny."

"Oh, she's beautiful," Airianna said as she and Rick approached the small group. "How'd you find her?"

"She and another horse ran by the walls a few months ago," Aaron replied. "I've been looking for them for a few months. Ran into Daryl outside and we tracked the other horse, but he didn't make it. Bumped into these two and Sunny, Sophia laughing about how the mare threw Merle when he tried to catch her the first time."

"Are you okay? Need me to check you for a concussion?" She asked her brother-in-law.

"Nah," Merle brushed her off. "My head's just fine. This little lady though is damn good at horse wranglin'."

Sophia blushed at his praise, "I just understand her better than you, Merle."

"You guys heading over to the party at Deanna's?" Aaron wondered as he eyed the plate of cookies in the redhead's arms.

"Yeah," Rick said. "Just to check it out. Do you want to come Sophia?"

The girl shifted awkwardly, "I don't know."

"Come on," Carl chimed in. "Can't let me go in there alone. It will suck. Plus I want to hear how you caught her."

Sophia grinned, "Alright," She passed her bow and quiver to Merle and the rope on the horse to Daryl before she and Carl took off towards the party.

"I'll tye the horse up on the porch," Merle grumbled. "I found her so she stayin' with us."

"I'll go with you," Daryl grumbled. He spared a quick look to his well put together wife standing by Rick before he followed Aaron and his brother back down the street towards their houses.

Airianna sighed but followed Rick to the party, waiting by the door after he knocked and smiling when Deanna opened the door. She happily greeted each of them along with Judith and Eren before she thanked Airianna for the dessert and led Rick over to her husband, Reg. Airi tried to keep a smile on her face as she walked around all of the people in the room, but she did beam at the sight of Abraham downing multiple beers while Beth and Noah talked quietly to each other in a corner of the living room. She placed the plate of cookies down on the dining room table and the women in the room gawked at the freshly baked treat, swarming her to figure out how she made them.

The pregnant woman tucked herself into a seat as she struggled to keep up with the conversations each of the women were trying to have with her at the exact same time, but she got through enough of the conversations to understand what they were going on about. Apparently, a woman in town kept nagging about wanting a pasta maker, and when Airi lightly explained one could simply make pasta by hand the small group of women burst into laughter at the simple solution.

She groaned in relief as Rick swopped in and save her with her adorable son attached at his hip. Eren happily climbed into his mom's lap and she wrapped her arms around him as she carefully rose to her feet. The women backed away to giver her space as she walked to the other side of the room with Rick, noting how the man was watching Olivia walk through the front door.

"She's here, which means it's empty, so…" Airi looked around the room real quick and settled her eyes on Deanna. "I got this."

Rick shook his head, "I can go with you."

"Rick just watch," She insisted as she moved away from him and walked up to Deanna and Reg talking with their son, Spencer, "Hey, Deanna. Eren's getting a little sleepy here so I'm gonna have to go tuck him in for the night."

The older woman beamed at the boy shyly tucking his head into his mother's neck, "Ah, a mother's job is never done. That's perfectly fine. Thank you so much for coming, both of you."

"Would you mind making sure Sophia comes home at a reasonable hour," She asked as she glanced at the girl sitting and talking with Carl and Ron. "I know she's a teenager, but I still worry."

"No worries," Reg assured. "She's in good hands. I can keep an eye on her and your friends Beth and Noah could go home with her when she's ready to leave."

"Thank you so much, both of you," Airi gratefully said as she adjusted Eren in her grip.

Deanna and Reg smiled at the expecting mother, "Have a wonderful night."

She waved the older couple off as she sent Rick an 'I told you so' look. Rick smirked and shook his head as the mother and child slipped from the house. The redhead slowly made her way out of the house and down the street, pausing in front of the pantry when she heard footsteps behind her.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" She sighed in relief as Jessie's youngest boy, Sam, appeared from behind the shrubs. "Sam? What are you doing out here? Your mother will get worried."

"All the cookies were gone," He said. "I wanted to ask you to make some more."

"Well I have to take Eren home to sleep right now," She gently explained. "But I can make some later."

"I can come with you," He offered. "And you could make me a batch real quick."

"I'm sorry, Sam," She replied. "I don't have all the ingredients to make them anymore. You'll have to wait until tomorrow at least."

The eight-year-old shifted his feet, "You could go ask Olivia to grab what you need."

Airianna sighed, "Olivia is not working right now, and I don't want to disturb her. So go back to the party and come talk to me tomorrow."

"But maybe you could-"

"Sam," He tensed at her stern motherly voice. "You should not be following me around in the dark while I'm trying to take my son home. Go back to your mother or I will drag you back there and explain your inappropriate behavior."

"But I just-"

He was cut off by her quick movement and was dumbfounded as she placed her hand on his back and led his back to Deanna's door. She knocked loudly on the wood, before returning her hand to Sam's back so he couldn't run off. Deanna opened the door and eyed the mother in surprise along with Sam.

"I'm sorry Deanna," Airianna said in a sweet voice. "Is Jessie here? I caught this little man trying to follow me home and I got horribly concerned."

"Oh, my," The female leader muttered as she turned her head. "Jessie? Could you come here a minute?" The blonde woman walked to the door and tensed slightly at the sight of her son and her pregnant neighbor. "Seems your son tried to follow Airianna here home."

"Sam? Why would you do that," Jessie asked as she looked down at her son.

The boy huffed, "I wanted some cookies, but the plate was empty. So I thought she would make me some if I went to her house. But she was just kept saying no."

"Well, I'm sure she did, you shouldn't be pestering a poor pregnant woman when she's trying to take care of her own child," She pulled her son towards her as she locked eyes with the redhead. "I am so sorry about him."

"It's fine," Airi waved her off. "Just glad he's safe." She paused when Eren started to grumble in her arms, "I'm sorry, I really have to get him home now before he gets grumpy."

She turned back around and left the house again, pausing once more outside the pantry to listen for followers. When no footsteps sounded she walked around to the back of the house and pushed open the unlatched window. She set her son down gently in the grass and awkwardly crawled through the opening, cringing as her babies kicked incessantly at the squeezing feeling. She straightened herself back up and grabbed a small shoulder bag, walking up to the box full of handguns in the corner. She opened the lid and grabbed three of the guns off the top before she quickly closed it back up and squeezed back through the window. Eren giggled at the sight of his mother crawling through the window and Airi smirked at her son before picking him up once more.

She shut the window again and casually walked away with her son on her hip and the small tan bag around her shoulder. The mother sighed in relief as she was able to get back down to the street the houses were on without drawing anyone's eyes but froze when she heard her name being called from one of the houses.

"Airianna," She turned her head and smiled at Aaron's form on his porch. "I know you just came from the party, but I invited Daryl in for some dinner. Would you like some?"

She chuckled when she heard her stomach grumble loudly, "Sure, just as long as thing little guy can nap on your couch. I was taking him home to sleep."

"Sure, of course," He happily chimed as he waved her inside the house. "Eric and I adore kids. We were thinking about adopting before everything."

Airianna smiled as she gently set her son on the couch and laid the tan bag down on the floor by him, "You two would make great parents."

"Thanks, uh the dining room is this way," He led her through his house to a lovely formal dining room where Eric and Daryl were sitting diagonally from each other, a plate of pasta in front of each of them.

"Airi?" Daryl mumbled as he shifted in his seat, "Thought you went to the party or some shit."

"I've never been a party person Daryl," She muttered as she tucked into the seat next to him, smiling when he got up and pulled it out for her. "You know how much I avoided them in school."

"I guess," He muttered as Aaron brought in another plate of pasta for his wife. "Ya did avoid them like the plague back then."

Eric chuckled, "That's funny. Aaron and I would always use to try to throw block parties and he would be hiding in the kitchen the whole damn time."

"How's your foot doing?" The doctor asked. "I haven't had time to check it."

"It's actually great," He replied as they all dug into the food. "Pete checked, sadly it is broken. But you reset the bone with all your wrappings so Pete just slapped a cast on it and gave me some crutches."

The two couples ate in silence for a little bit, Eric and Aaron sharing amusing smiles as Daryl slurped up the food as quickly as possible, "Thanks."

"And that's a polite as he gets," Airi joked as she watched Daryl choke on the glass of wine Aaron had poured him earlier.

He scoffed at his wife, "Stop."

He moved to wipe his sleeve across his face, but paused and grabbed his napkin instead. The husbands glanced at the small smirk of the wife's face as she sipped the small glass of water Aaron provided her instead of the wine.

"Mmm," Eric motioned to Daryl. "When you're out there, if you happen to be in a store or something, Mrs. Neudermyer is looking for a pasta maker. And we're all really trying to get her to shut up about it." Daryl paused his next gulp of wine as the man continued. "I mean, we have crates of dried pasta in here, but she wants to make her own or something. I really think she just wants something to talk about, so…If you see one out on your travels, it would go a long way to..." He tensed as he noticed the confused faces on the Dixons and the guilty look Aaron sent him. "I thought it was done. You didn't ask him already?"

"Ask me what?" Daryl looked at Aaron.

"Come on," Aaron said as he got up from the table. Daryl helped his wife up and they both followed the man to a door in his house. He opened it and flicked on the light, revealing his garage stocked full of random parts for motorcycles, walls lined with tools for assembly and repair, and an empty frame of one tucked in the corner under a tarp. "When I got the place, there was that frame and some parts and equipment. Whoever lived here built them."

Daryl wandered around the room in silent awe, "It's a lot of parts for one bike."

"Whenever I came across any parts out there, I brought them back," Aaron explained. "I didn't know what I'd need. I always thought I'd learn how to do it, but I get the feeling you already know what to do."

Her husband shrugged as he peeked under the tarp like a kid on Christmas, "This garage is like an echo to the one at our old house. Daryl loved fixing his and Merle's bikes up. Saved me money on car repairs too."

Aaron smiled, "Well the thing is, you're going to need a bike."

"Why?"

"I told Deanna not to give you a job because I think I have one for you," Daryl shifted his eyes between the floor and Aaron. "I'd like you to be Alexandria's other recruiter. I don't want Eric risking his life anymore."

He sighed, "You want me risking mine, right?"

"Yeah, because you know what you're doing," Airianna crossed her arms at the man's logic. "You're good out there. But you don't belong out there. Know it's hard getting used to people getting used to you. And I understand right now you need to be out there sometimes. So do I. But the main reason why I want you to help me recruit is because you _do_ know the difference between a good person and a bad person."

Daryl looked up at Aaron and Airi noticed how his eyes slightly glazed over at the compliment, "Guess I got nothin' else to do," He grumbled. "Thanks. I'll get you some rabbits."

Aaron chuckled at the inside joke, "Yeah, great."

Her husband walked around the bike frame and shook the other man's hand before he walked up to Airi and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. The trio walked back into the house and Daryl moved over to where Eric was sitting on the couch by Eren, grabbing the sleeping child along with the small bag on the floor by him. He passed the bag to his wife and the couple waved Aron and Eric goodbye as they thanked them for the dinner. The two of them quietly walked back to the large house at the end of the street and they both laughed at the sight of Merle drinking a beer next to the horse tied up onto the porch of the smaller house.

They quickly got into the empty house and moved into the guest bedroom on the ground floor where Eren and Carl slept together. Their son smiled in his sleep as his dad tucked him into the twin bed by the window, rolling over as his parents slipped from the room.

"Guess we should head to bed too," Airi whispered as Daryl quietly closed the door behind them.

"Damn right we should," Daryl agreed as he pulled his wife into a kiss and led her across the hallway to their room.


	45. Chapter 45

"Hey Denise, how are you this morning?" Airianna asked as she brought in a cup of coffee for the nurse.

A few days had passed since the party. Airianna brought the three guns to Rick and Daryl, her husband insisted on trying after Aaron offered him the job so she ended up sneaking back into the armory and returning one of the guns. She hid hers in the air vent in her bedroom, a place she figured no one would ever think to check if they ever came looking. Now she was trying to work with the community like Daryl was, so Airianna sucked it up and went to the infirmary the next day, surprised to find out Pete wasn't there, and according to Denise he was rarely ever there.

She had been far more comfortable since then, something about him rubbed her the wrong way.

"Thank you so much," Denise praised as she snatched the caffeinated drink from her hands. The female doctor smirked as she slowly sipped her cup of herbal tea. "Heard Daryl and Aaron are heading out today."

"Yeah, they left earlier," Airi muttered over the rim of her cup. "Eren was so upset, wouldn't let go of his dad's leg."

"Awe," Denise cooed. "He is such a cute kid."

The mother smirked, "Yeah, I know. Anybody come in yet today?"

Denise shook her head, "I know the run crew is going out so we should be on alert."

The redhead nodded as she sat down on the kitchen counter. She had seen Glenn, Noah, Tara, and Beth this morning getting ready for the run. They said Aiden tracked down a warehouse with equipment to repair the solar grid so they were bringing Eugene along to find the right pieces. While she herself still had mixed feelings about Eugene, she knew he was quite intelligent with machines and tweaking things despite his flaws.

"The construction crew will be out as well," Airi noted as she glanced out the window to see Merle hopping into one of the trucks by the gate with Abraham. "So we should hunker down here just in case. May send you to the gate when we see them coming."

"Why?" Denise wondered.

"You can triage any injured people," She explained. "Help with minor injuries and make sure the bad ones don't bleed out before they get here."

"Are you sure Pete will be okay with that?" The woman worried as she fiddled with her glasses.

Airianna shrugged as she brushed her hair out of her face, "He's not here. And since I'm the other degree holding surgeon it's my call today," She looked over to Denise on the other side of the counter. "Did you read that book I gave you?"

She sighed, "You mean the one you stole from Pete's office?"

"Borrowed."

"Right," The coffee drinker rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I read it, a lot like my other textbooks back in med school."

"Good," The pregnant woman smiled as she shuffled out of her seat. "I am going to grab Eren so Sophia can spend time taking care of Sunny, and I'll test you when I get back."

"Wait...Test me?!"

The woman's frantic calls damped once Airianna walked out of the infirmary and down the street towards her house. When the groups finally decided to split up and live separately in the two houses they were given her family, Rick and his kids, Beth, and Michonne settled in the Victorian styled house. The craftsman now housed Abraham and Rosita, Merle, Tara, Noah, Maggie and Glenn, Sasha, and Eugene. She was personally quite pleased it was the same amount of people in each house, even though most of them had to pair up than have their own room.

Airi waved at Sophia sitting on the porch by the now far cleaner horse, running a brush through her mane. The teenager had grown quite attached to the animal she and Merle had tracked down and adored taking care of her. Carl liked to help, but the redhead guessed it was to spend time with Sophia than the animal. She smiled as the other teen stepped out of the house with Judith in his arms and she quickly squeezed by them to check on Eren.

Her son was sitting on the couch playing with his now clean and patched up deer toy, making little noises of crashes as he bounced the stuffed animal off of the couch cushions.

"Hi, Eren," She walked up and kissed his forehead. "How are you?"

"Good," He muttered. "Have friend over."

"Were you playing with Carl and Judith?" She wondered.

"No, Sam," She tensed at the name of the annoying child that had been pestering her since the party. Now she didn't normally get so peeved by a kid, but Sam kept begging for a batch of cookies going out of his way to do so. She was impressed by his diligence, but not his lack of boundaries. "He's hiding."

"Are you playing hide-and-seek?" Her son nodded as his mind wandered back to the toy in his hands.

She looked around the room and narrowed her eyes at the slightly open closet door on the stairs. She walked over and wrenched the door open, the young boy inside dropping the box of food items he was holding in the process.

"Uh...You found me?"

The pregnant woman sighed as she pulled him from the closet, "What are you doing here?"

"Do you have any more cookies?" Sam asked.

Airi moaned as she ran her hand down her face, "How did you get in the house? Cause I know Carl and Sophia would've told me if you were here."

"The back door was unlocked," He said casually as he walked into the kitchen. "Could you make me some cookies now?"

"No, Sam," She snapped. "You can't do this. You snuck into my home, I told you to be patient, the ingredients for the cookies are not fully free all the time. They are rationed."

"But you said to wait two days ago!" The boy whined.

The mother bit her lip as she dragged him by his shirt to the back door, "Go home."

"My house doesn't have power," The boy explained. "I was going to paint my owl statue, but somebody broke it."

"Sam, none of those are a good reason to break into my home," She said. "Come on, go home."

"Can you make more cookies? I'll stop asking, I swear," The mother closed her eyes as she tried to fight off the migraine forming at the boy's repeating words. "Maybe if you showed me how to make them I could do it myself."

"You want cookies?" He nodded his head frantically. "Alright, you're going to have to sneak the chocolate from the pantry. And get an extra bar for me." He smiled and turned to walk out the door, but her hand on his shoulder stopped him, "If you get caught or say anything then I will tell your mother and Rick about you sneaking into my house."

She took a few deep breaths as he left the house before she turned and walked out the front to the porch, "Hey, Airi. Are you okay? I heard something fall."

"Just dropped something when one of the babies kicked," She explained to Sophia. "Could you run down to the infirmary and tell Denise that I had to rest for a little bit and that I'll be back before the others return?"

"Of course," The blonde smiled as she put down her brush and motioned to Carl. "Want to come? There's some baby swings on the playground that Judith might like."

"Yeah sounds good," The boy got up from his perch on the front steps. "Want us to take Eren too. So you can rest easier?"

Airianna beamed, "That would be great. Thank you, Carl."

She waved off the kids and once they turned the corner ducked back into the kitchen. As much as she didn't want to she had to wait for Sam to return, make him the stupid cookies, and then get back to the infirmary. A few minutes passed and Airi decided to start mixing up the batter in case Sam actually returned with the chocolate, if not then she would have some adequate sugar cookies. A knock on the front door caught her ear and she cracked it open to see Sam proudly waving a baggie with two pieces of chocolate in it. She let him in and chopped up one of the bars to mix into the batter, allowing the boy to help her lay the cookies in the tray and stick them in the oven.

"After these are done, that's it," She informed the boy. "I have work to do during the days."

He nodded, "With my dad, I know."

"And you're only getting half of the cookies, can't have your dinner spoiled," He sighed but nodded again.

"Were you always a good cook?"

"I guess," The redhead muttered as she wiped the counter. "My mom taught me and I always ended baking when I felt sad."

"Sometimes when I get sad, I break stuff," He quietly said.

Airi quirked her brows, "What kind of stuff?" Sam shrugged his shoulders as he watched the cookies in the oven. "You said somebody broke your owl statue. Did you break it?" He reluctantly nodded his head. "Why?"

"Why'd you want the extra chocolate?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

The pregnant woman frowned as she noticed his sad eyes, "Sam, why are you here? Why do you keep coming over?"

"I don't know," He glanced around the room and his eyes landed on Sophia's bow and quiver. "Why do you guys have weapons lying around?"

"Because sometimes you have to protect yourself," She explained. "Daryl and I taught Sophia how to do just that."

Sam bit his lip, "Do you think I could have one? Like a gun or something?"

"Why do you want one?"

He blinked and shook his head, "It's not for me."

"Sam, Who's it for?" Airianna gently asked.

The boy tensed for a second before he bolted out the door. Airianna looked at where the boy had been standing previously in shock before she took off after him. She ran out of the house and speed-walked down the road when she noticed him duck back into his house. She climbed up the small porch and gently knocked on the door, hoping he or Jessie would open it.

Instead, she was greeted by Pete, "Airianna? Why are you here? Do you need something?"

The female doctor internally cringed at the smell of alcohol wafting off of him, "I was with Sam earlier. Is he okay?"

"Why wouldn't he be?" He asked. "Better yet why were you with my kid?"

"He had a playdate with my son, Eren," She brushed the question off. "Can I talk to Jessie?"

"Not a good time," He hissed as he slammed the door closed.

Airianna sighed at the man's behavior as she walked back to her house and pulled the finished cookies out of the oven. She knew the signs, she had seen them before. She knew getting involved like the last time she did would only put her in hot water as well, especially since she was pregnant now. But as she slowly made her way back to the infirmary she figured she could tell Rick, he was technically the cop in the town now.

"Help! I need help!"

The squeaking of the gate drew her ear along with the screams and she watched as Aiden's van peeled into the community and screeched to a halt in front of the infirmary. She rushed over to the van and gasped at the sight when she swung the back door open. Tara was unconscious with blood dripping down her head, luckily she had a bandage to slow the blood flow. But Beth, she could barely see the girl with Eugene hovering over her, but the amount of blood on the floor of the van was terrifying.

"Glenn, Eugene you guys have to get them both inside now!" She yelled as she helped Eugene pick up Maggie's sister, trying to hold back her disgust as she eyed the large piece of metal sticking out of her stomach.

The two men carried both of the girls in and Denise gasped at their states. Airianna told the woman to keep Tara stable as she dragged Eugene to the far left room. The mullet haired man tensed as she opened the door to the OR but quickly set the blonde girl down on the operating table.

"Is she gonna be alright?" Eugene whispered as he watched the pregnant woman rush around the room, collecting medication and equipment.

"What the hell happened to her?"

"A grenade went off," He stuttered as Glenn ran into the room. "She and Aiden landed on a pile of rebar. He was stuck more than her, we were able to take the metal piece with her body."

"It's Nicholas' fault," Glenn hissed. "He said they both were dead and tried to leave them. We stuck our necks out, we got Beth. But Aiden didn't make it."

Airianna absently nodded her head as she tied up her hair, "Okay, I need you both out now."

"Airi no, it's Beth," Glenn argued.

"You want her dead or alive, Glenn Rhee?" She wondered. "Cause it's about to get pretty nasty in here and I need people who know what they're doing. So go get Denise or go away."

The two men nodded their heads and ran from the room to grab the other medical professional. Airianna assessed the injury now that they were gone. The metal through her body was jagged and rusted, which made taking it out harder and the risk of infection greater. She hooked up and IV and a bag of blood for a transfusion before she checked for any other injuries. She sighed in relief at the lack of other wounds and grabbed a surgeon's gown from an open drawer, tossing it on over her own clothes before she added a mask and gloves to her ensemble.

The doctor grabbed a sterile towel and pressed it down around the wound before she started to pull the chunk of metal out of the girl's side. Denise walked into the room and ran to help hold the pressure as the doctor removed the intruding item, "Denise I need more bandages and the cautery pen now."

The woman jumped into action and passed the electrical tool to the doctor, watching as she applied pressure to the fresh wound before she quickly let up to close off the cut open blood vessels. With part of the leaking blood vessels cauterized the doctor motioned to the other tools on a nearby tray, "I need you on suction while I take out her spleen," Airianna bluntly stated. "No way to save the poor thing."

The psychiatrist joined the surgeon and worked around her as she removed Beth's damaged organ very carefully, sealing off the connective valves and blood vessels before she started to sew the wound shut.

"She is the luckiest girl I have ever met," The doctor muttered as she worked. "A miracle the rebar didn't go all the way through her body. Still, the infection might kill her."

"Infection?" Denise questioned as she watched her methodically work.

The pregnant woman elaborated, "With her spleen gone her ability to fight off a simple wound infection is practically gone. So we have to keep a close eye on her to see if she starts to develop any signs of sepsis."

She sighed in relief as Beth's vitals held the whole operation and the donated blood of the Alexandria group members was more than enough for the amount of trauma Beth sustained. She sent Denise out to check on Tara as she gently applied antibacterial cream to her side wound and wrapped it. The redhead sighed as she grabbed the gurney from the side of the room and set it up to transfer Beth to one of the long term rooms. She easily moved her small body onto the gurney and opened the door to the hallway, opening the one right across from her as well to close off the end of the hall from prying eyes as well as clearing the way to move the teen.

Airianna gave her injured friend a soft smile as she got her situated in one of the twin beds in the room, listening to the continuous beeping of the heart monitor. She stepped out of the room and tossed her dirty doctor's gown, gloves, and mask into a trash can in the OR before she left to face the others in the main room. When she walked out she first checked Tara's eyes for pupil response before she looked at anyone else, smiling at the dilation of her eyes.

"Airianna? How is she, Beth?" The redhead turned to see the blonde's sister tucked into the side of her husband, worry drenched over her face.

She crossed her arms, "Alive...For now. She was hit with a chunk of metal that damaged her spleen beyond repair. I was able to remove the bad organ and seal up the other internal trauma."

"Oh thank God," Maggie whispered.

"We will have to monitor her closely overnight for any signs of fever or infection," The redhead added. "With her spleen gone, it will be harder to fight off any illnesses or infections she may get in the future."

Maggie took in a weak breath, "Thank you so much Airi. You'll watch her tonight right?"

"I'll switch off with Denise, also Tara should wake up sometime in the next few days," She assured Eugene. "She most certainly has a concussion though. Where's Noah by the way?"

Glenn clenched his teeth, "Nicholas got him killed, tried to leave me to die."

The doctor closed her eyes at his sorrowful tone. Two dead and two injured all due to an accident along with a man's cowardice. She stumbled slightly and Glenn dove to keep her standing. He helped her walk to the bed next to Tara's and she plopped down on it, too consumed in her thoughts at the moment to notice her friend's concerned face.

"Maybe you should get some rest, Airi," The Korean man quietly suggested.

"Maybe I should, Glenn," She agreed. "But you have to go talk to Rick first. Michonne too. Cause I am betting money Nicholas will try to make all this look like your fault to Denise."

Maggie shook her head, "Denise would want to look at all the facts."

"Her son just died," She reminded her friend. "She's grieving and Nicholas will know that she will believe whatever she hears first." She waved off her friend's concerned looks as she got up from the bed and glanced at Denise, "Can you watch both of the girls for now?"

"Yeah, of course," She promised.

Eugene sniffled as he took a chair and pulled it up to Tara's bed, "I'm staying too."

"Come on then you two," She pointed to Glenn and Maggie. "We have a mess to clean up."

She fought back the exhaustion that hit her body as she walked to the front door, leading the couple out of the building towards their homes. The Alexandrians in the street stared at them oddly, most likely due to the blood splattered on Glenn's clothing. Or maybe due to the news of Beth being injured and the looks were concern for Maggie's sister. The pregnant woman didn't really care at the moment. She nodded to Rick as they approached the porch, the man motioning for Glenn to sit down. Maggie moved into their house to speak with Abraham and Rosita about Tara's injuries while the cop and her husband started to talk.

"I saw the grenades," Glenn whispered as he crouched on the floor. "I tried to stop him. They went off and Aiden hit some rebar...Beth landed on top of him."

"Was he dead?" Rick asked.

"Nicholas said he was, said they both were. But we heard them crying in pain…" He fiddled with his hands. "He was gonna run. But we made him stay. Couldn't get Aiden and Beth out of there without help."

"But he panicked?" Airi guessed.

Glenn nodded, "Noah got Beth off, with the metal stuck in her. I guess it broke off from the pipe or something. We tried to help Aiden, but Nicholas ran off towards the front of the building and we had to go after him. Beth was bleeding out." He shook his head, "We got stuck and I tried to break the glass. All he had to do was hold the door. But he panicked."

Rick sighed, "So he pushed his side open and put you, Noah, and Beth at risk?"

"Noah, I had him," He muttered. "But one of the walkers grabbed Beth and he pushed her out of the way. He saved her life. I tried...We watched him die. I almost left him out there. Could have told a story." Rick gave Glenn an annoyed look, "What, you think I should have?"

"They don't know what they're doing," Rick stated. "Any of them."

"We'll show them," Glenn argued.

The leader rolled his eyes, "I don't know if they can see it. How things really are. I don't know if they can yet. They haven't caught up."

"We have to be here," Glenn insisted. "We have to."

"Yeah, we do," Rick agreed. "But their rules, we don't answer to them."

"We are them, Rick," Airianna chimed in.

Glenn nodded, "We are now. Noah, he believed in this place. I'm telling you, we gotta make this work."

Rick sighed but silently agreed as he got up and walked away from Glenn. Airi padded her friend's shoulder as she went after their leader. She walked up to Rick on the other side of the porch as he glanced at Jessie sitting on her own porch with her kids.

"You know he's hitting her?" Airi let out. "Maybe the kids too."

Rick swung around with a look of confusion, "How do you know?"

"Sam," She muttered. "It's why he keeps bothering me. He needed to get away from everything and I guess he clung to the closet mother figure he could find."

"Did he tell you?"

"No," She denied. "He didn't have to. And the way Pete acts...It's like seeing Daryl's father in the flesh after all these years. Glad Merle hasn't picked up on it or he would've beaten him to a pulp by now."

"I'll talk to Denise about it," Rick promised. "Thank you for letting me know."

"He asked for a gun," The father tensed at her words. "Sam, he asked for one. But he said it wasn't for him. I'm worried that it's only going to get worse."

"I will make sure it doesn't come to that," Rick declared as he stepped off the porch, heading towards the large pond in the community.


End file.
